Under the Bastard Flag
by Belladonna Rose
Summary: Orihime reluctantly agrees to accompany Captain Aizen to save her town from his wrath, only to garner the attention of the pirate who captains the ship called The Pantera. Oh yes, AU.
1. Chapter 1

Orihime hurried through the darkening streets of Karakura, her steps echoing off the cobblestones among the block and stone buildings. She knew the dangers of being out too late, even in a relatively safe town like Karakura. It was a four hour ride from the coast, but with Aizen's pirate hordes razing more and more villages inland, no one felt secure. Especially not teenage girls alone at night.

She hoped Tatsuki was already at her room, where they always ate supper together at the boarding house in which Orihime lived. She knew Tatsuki could take care of herself, but even her tomboyish friend was no match for the invading pirates that had been spreading terror through the countryside of late in ever increasingly large rings of destruction.

She hitched the strap of her bag of supplies over her shoulder and quickened her step, pulling her skirt higher to allow her to skip faster along the side street. Summer was hot in the evening air, the heat from the day still hanging in the town. From afar voices rose, excited cries that made her turn with relief to the alley down which she lived. She couldn't determine the nature of the cries, whether joyful or not, but she preferred to think them of merriment.

She climbed the cutback of stairs that led to the fourth floor where her room was, the sounds of alarm now sounding truer in the cries as her eager hands fumbled with the latch. She heard heavy footsteps enter the alley from below behind her. She leaned to the door of the small apartment, hoping the growing shadows of the elm tree that canopied the alley would hide her in the dusk.

The footsteps paused below, and Orihime quietly fit the key in the door lock and opened it with minimal squeaking. She let herself in, turning immediately to lock the door.

"Orihime Inoue?"

She spun at the man's voice, turning so quickly that her bag strap slid down her shoulder, resting at her elbow as she stared back at the intruder.

Ulquiorra Schiffer stepped out of the shadow by her bed, green eyes falling over her as she turned back to the door.

Orihime's hand pulled at the door latch, but in a fleeting second Ulquiorra crossed the small simple room and pushed it shut.

"We'll leave when I say we do," he said, watching her recoil to the side of the room by the bed.

She pressed her back to the rough stone wall, clutching her bag close to her ample chest, watching him study her. "Who, who are you?"

Ulquiorra gave her a thorough scrutiny, eyes moving over the somewhat disheveled peasant blouse of her sable dress cinched tight by the wide black belt at her waist, the skirt falling full past her knees, to her sandaled feet. "You are Orihime Inoue?"

She nodded, moving back tighter to the wall as he crossed the few steps to her. Despite the black boots, pants, and smoky gray jacket over his white tunic, she knew the sword at his hip was not military issue. At least, not Seireitei army issue.

He nodded, glancing to her bag. "You're the weaver's daughter that is skilled in the lost healing arts?"

The description made Orihime nod slowly. She hadn't been called such in a very long time, since before her brother's death, and never by someone who looked liked this man.

"The fiancée of Ichigo Kurosaki?"

It was a title she hadn't quite gotten used to yet, but she nodded.

For the first time the hint of a smile came to the man's face, eyes rising to the top of her head, nodding at the small barrettes at either side holding her copper auburn hair back from her face. "Yes, I am."

Something of a chuckle came from him as he looked from her to the room. The furnishings were sparse and unadorned, the bed and a stool by a small table with a three armed candelabra of wrought iron, a few dresses hanging from a hook on the wall. "This is how the affianced wife of the town's largest stable owner's son lives?" He shook his head, nodding to the candleholder. "The fanciest piece is a blacksmith's handiwork?"

Orihime didn't look at it. "It was a gift."

Ulquiorra nodded. "The blacksmith's apprentice. A friend of yours?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"The gift of a lover? You take a blacksmith's apprentice as a lover when you're betrothed to Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"No. Chad is a friend. Ichigo knows he's my friend. There's nothing illicit about Chad and me."

"You're kept in squalor while Kurosaki rests in his feather bed," he said, eyes going to her own cot of patchwork quilts. "You must be eager for marriage. Move into that impressive estate at the edge of town. The swan ponds, the fountain under the willows, your choice of the best horseflesh in the country. The same stable that stocks the king's stable," he said slowly, stepping closer until his shirt was nearly touching where the white chemise peeked from the top of her dress at her chest. "Is that what you want?"

She looked to each of his eyes, the faint light of the room from the window behind him shadowing his face, making his eyes appear merely dark, hardly green at all with his proximity to her now.

"Or would you rather your life serve a higher purpose?"

He stepped away as the door opened and a large figure shoved his way in. Ulquiorra looked to Yammy as he entered, his large hulk taking up much of the room, even more with the unconscious form of Tatsuki slung over his shoulder, kicking the door shut behind him.

"No! Tatsuki!" Orihime cried, taking a step toward the girl without thinking.

Ulquiorra's arm snapped out in front of her, his face sober. "Good. You care for her."

Orihime watched as Yammy deposited the black-haired girl on the bed in an ungracious heap, her tan skirt settling over her upper thighs. Yammy moved to her, one meaty hand reaching for her rumpled blouse.

"Don't touch her," Orihime said before he could complete his gesture on the girl.

"Not yet," Ulquiorra told him briskly.

Yammy gave him a dark look, grunting as he remained at the bedside, his small eyes moving over Orihime with new appreciation. "Much better, this one is."

Ulquiorra looked to Orihime's terrified face as she watched Tatsuki's unconscious form. "The question now is how much do you care for your friend? For your hometown, Orihime Inoue?"

She looked to him, her bag pulled close to her waist before her. "Very much."

"Enough to leave it? To leave them?" He cocked his head to one side, looking again to the chemise that tufted from the top of her collar. "You can provide a protection for them that no one else can."

Orihime's arms crossed around her bag tighter, looking to Tatsuki's helpless figure, her fingers aching to pull the girl's skirt down around her legs.

"You know Captain Aizen's pirate ships have been marauding along the coast for months now," Ulquiorra added, watching her attention flit to him quickly. "You've heard of the towns he's left, the aftermath of what's been left."

A slow numbing began to overtake Orihime's mind as his words sunk into her brain. "He's looking for some treasure that doesn't even exist."

"It exists," Ulquiorra said as Yammy made a growling noise. "Captain Aizen has, shall we say, become interested now in something of a consolation prize that Karakura offers. Something that you can offer, in exchange for leaving this docile little village untouched."

Orihime frowned, her eyes going to Tatsuki on the bed.

"Yes, it would extend to your friends, Orihime," he added, her attention still on the unconscious girl. "You accompany me -- of your own will -- to Captain Aizen, and we, in turn, leave Karakura in the unscathed manner it is now."

Her frown deepened, fingers clamping white-knuckle tight around her bag. She looked to him. "What does he want with me?"

Ulquiorra shrugged slightly. "That he did not specify. But as you're of a," he said, leaning toward her, making her ease away, "marriageable age, perhaps that."

"But I'm engaged."

He shook his head. "It'll be broken. Annulled by you. Can you write?"

She nodded.

"Not many young women hold the power you do at this moment, Orihime," he said, watching her decisiveness waver. "You can walk away from this town and save it, or you can remain, and accept whatever the _Midori_, _The_ _Pantera_, and the _Bleeding Sister_ will do to it." His voice dropped lower. "And I can assure you, they will do quite a lot of damage. Beginning with Yammy and your friend here."

She shook her head hastily, her breath catching as Yammy laughed. Her gaze softened as she looked to Tatsuki, her mind running cold as she turned through the proposal Ulquiorra had given her. "Marriage?"

"Whatever Captain Aizen wants, Orihime Inoue," he said. "Your forbidden arts, your influence, your future, all of it."

She shook her head. "They aren't forbidden arts," she said, looking to him. "They're only forgotten."

He nodded. "What's your answer?"

Orihime looked around at the small room, her home since her brother had died despite Ichigo's attempts at bringing her into better quarters, or even a room in the Kurosaki residence. He was a friend like that, always had been to her since she'd first sneaked into the back pasture of his family's stables.

But it wasn't squalor, or even a pitiable residence. She looked at the plain stone walls, the fringed curtain she'd hand-knotted over the course of a month back when Sora had first died, to the wash basin where she mixed the precious bottles of ancient healing properties that had been handed down to her from her grandmother.

She looked then to Tatsuki lying on the bed. She took a deep breath and turned hesitantly to the man awaiting her answer. "Who are you?"

"Ulquiorra Schiffer, captain of the _Midori_," he said, bowing slightly.

She'd heard of him, of his ship. She'd heard of _The Pantera_ and the _Bleeding Sister_, too, all pirate ships back on the waters after Captain Aizen had freed the captains from assorted prisons. She tried to keep her voice from trembling when she spoke.

"Will I come back?" she finally asked.

"No."

She nodded, feeling her soul sinking within her. "I'll go."

"Good. You can send back your annulment later. Now," Ulquiorra said, looking to the bag she held, "we leave. You can take a few items. Your craft necessities."

"But my clothes, and --"

"You'll be provided for." He glanced around at the few shelves on the walls. "Bring with you what you need."

Orihime had it all already, she knew she did, that there was nothing else she needed. It was always in the bag, those precious bottles and powders whose restorative powers were forgotten by even the most astute apothecaries of her time. Also, a few other items, some of which were not nearly so functionally important.

She looked to Yammy, who was still leering at Tatsuki on the bed. She looked back to Ulquiorra. "Captain Schiffer, he won't hurt her?"

Ulquiorra shook his head. "He's coming with us now."

She nodded, and then reached to Tatsuki and pulled her friend's skirt down past her knees, as far as the material would go. Yammy gave her a grumble.

"I'm ready to go," Orihime said quietly, glancing around the room for the final time.

"Go on ahead and get the horses," Ulquiorra said to Yammy.

The large man threw Tatsuki a longing look and headed for the door.

Ulquiorra turned to Orihime, watching her eyes rest on her friend. "I'll tell you now, woman, that once aboard my ship, and any ship under Captain Aizen's flags, there is no quarter given you other than what that captain allows," he said in a deadly serious tone.

She looked to him, swallowing the lump in her throat as she nodded, the air of the darkened room seeming to escape her attempts at breathing.

"I don't think you understand," he said, looking to her hands clutching her bag at her chest. "There may be women among our crews, but you'll find no camaraderie there. All alliances on any of the ships Captain Aizen controls are to him, and no one else. If you escape onto any deck you'll no longer have the protection of the captain of that vessel."

She nodded, eyes going to Tatsuki before closing for a brief moment. "I understand."

The town streets were dark as Ulquiorra climbed into the saddle of the black horse just outside the alley street near Orihime's boarding house. He slipped his foot from the saddle stirrup and motioned for her to climb up. Orihime put her foot in the stirrup and took his arm as she swung up behind him, an awkward movement as she held her bag to her hip, her hair caught under its strap at her neck.

She settled more behind the saddle behind him, adjusting her skirt over her legs, flinching as he brought her arms around his waist and tied them in front of him by a cord. Loosely, she noted, not painfully tight, but enough to hold them around him. At their side Yammy climbed onto the back of a brown horse, a bit clumsily, she also noticed. In front of her Ulquiorra shook his head.

"You're like an ox on a sheep," he muttered at the ungainly man.

Yammy was preoccupied with the reins at the horse's mane before him.

"Let's go," Ulquiorra said.

Orihime didn't need her arms tied around the man in front of her to stay on a horse. She'd ridden a hundred times with her long-time friend Ichigo Kurosaki and alone. She also knew there was no point in breaking free of her promise to Captain Schiffer, as Tatsuki and the rest of Karakura would be at the mercy of dozens of pirates.

No one saw them leave down the streets. All attention was at the farther end of town, every neighbor who could see the blaze out their window looking to where the Kurosaki stables were crumbling to the hot flames licking high into the black night.

Ulquiorra noticed the brightness at the end of town as they left the gates and began the slight rise of the trade road, the smell of smoke growing strong on the rising wind. He halted his horse, turning to look at the disturbance.

"You said no one would get hurt if I agreed to go with you," Orihime said from behind him, following his gaze to look at the glimmer of fire in the distance.

"No one was supposed to," Ulquiorra said, a grim line coming to his mouth as his eyes searched the other side of town.

Yammy grunted. "Captain Grimmjow."

Ulquiorra nodded, turning his horse back to the road heading to the coast four hours away. "The idiot."


	2. Chapter 2

It was well past midnight when Ulquiorra, Orihime, and Yammy reached the small port village later that night. The hot day had eased into a sweltering night, the faint breeze barely reaching the set of docks at the seaside where a lone ship was tethered.

Orihime watched as they entered the village's main street, the single branch the town was built upon, most of the windows dark in the buildings to either side. Only the rival taverns' windows were lit, music and laughter coming from inside as the two horses and three riders passed by along the street.

Orihime kept her eyes before her, as she had for much of the long ride, her gaze drifting occasionally to Yammy, his leer visible even in the light of the half moon overhead.

Ulquiorra dropped the sweaty horses' gait from the canter they'd used most of the trade road to a jog and then to a walk as the street rounded to where it dissolved at the edge of town along the pair of docks. At the end of one pier was a single ship, its sails rolled, sitting still on the mirror like waters that barely broke a ripple.

Orihime looked to the flag raised over the main mast, but couldn't distinguish its design against the night skies, a mere pale emblem on a darker background. Ulquiorra pulled his horse to a halt at the dockside and looked to Yammy.

"Gather the men."

Yammy nodded, turning his exhausted horse back down the street toward the village center.

Orihime sat still as Ulquiorra untied her hands from before him, stripping off the rope, but leaving it attached to her left wrist. He swung off the horse and looked to her.

"Pull your leg over."

For a moment she hesitated, the tempting option of grabbing the reins and whirling the horse away and leaving Karakura to its own demise surfacing in her mind. Instead she let the fleeting thought pass and obeyed, sliding off the horse to face Ulquiorra, her hand pulling her skirt from the saddle quickly.

He nodded, his hand catching the loose end of the rope. "Come along."

She followed him down the dock, the knot in her stomach growing larger as they approached the ship at the end of the wooden pier. It was dark except for a single light at one window at the rear where the quarterdeck rose over the cabin below.

Her eyes went to the wooden hull creaking lowly on the water, but she saw no name on the side nor markings of any kind. They reached the gangplank extended from the ship at the end of the dock and she halted as Ulquiorra stepped onto it.

Her arm extended as the rope tautened when she stopped, the fingers of her free hand wrapping around the post at the gangplank entry.

He turned to look at her, his expression more of weariness than irritation. "Come on. No time for looking back on your decision now, Orihime."

She swallowed down the panic rising in her throat that had begun to well on their ride of the last four hours. She forced her fingers to withdraw from the post, her steps slow as he resumed climbing the gangplank.

They reached the main deck of the midsized ship, empty of anyone, a surreal feeling seeping into her senses as she looked to where quarterdeck rose against the night waters at the stern. Numbly she followed him to where the half staircase led to the lower cabins, the narrow confines of the short hall seeming to close around them as they descended the few steps to the landing before another door. To either side were two narrower doors, all four closed, but Ulquiorra continued on to the last wider door at the end.

He opened it and stood to one side. "Go in, and watch your step."

She paused at the first step at the doorway, looking to the depths of the main cabin that were lit by the low glow of a candle lamp, the few steps leading down to the floor. Her hand reached for the door frame beside her as she stood immobile, feeling the pirate beside her anxious for her cooperation.

"I don't see anyone," she said after a long moment.

"Captain Aizen isn't here," Ulquiorra said, his voice close to her ear. "We're meeting him later. Go in."

She took a shaky breath and descended the staircase to the cabin, stepping to the side immediately as he followed her, the door from above pulled shut behind him.

She looked around at the room. It was illuminated only faintly from the lamp, but she could see a desk to one side with a chair behind it, a small table to the other side of the room with two chairs, both sets of furniture against windows that were located far enough back in the stern that would allow no passage from the main deck.

She looked down as Ulquiorra tried to take the bag from her hands, her grip closing more tightly around it.

His eyes sharpened on her. "Release it. You'll get it back."

She shook her head slightly. "I'm to keep it with me at all times."

He sighed. "All times is a long time, girl. Let go."

She made herself allow him to take the bag, watching as he placed it on the desk. He took the dangling rope at her wrist.

"Will I need to tie you tonight or will you behave yourself?"

"I'll behave."

He untied the hard knot at her wrist and pulled the rope free. Her fingers went to the slight chaffing there. He tossed the rope on the table and turned up the lamp wick at the desk, and then walked slowly around her, watching the candlelight play off her hair in amber tones.

Orihime stood in the center of the room, head lowering to watch over her shoulder as he crossed behind her, and then raising her face to look at him when he stopped before her.

He nodded, one hand resting at the sword hilt at his hip. "Karakura should build a monument to you. We've wiped out larger towns at Captain Aizen's whim. Your friend has you to thank, too."

Her eyes dropped to the floor, then shifted to where her bag lay on the table.

He was about to speak again when the sound of footsteps and talking from the deck above reached them through the closed stair door. Orihime wasn't sure how many voices she heard, the air laden with coarse calls and raucous laughter from a day of drinking.

Ulquiorra looked to the stairs, watching her eyes take in the room. His hand closed at her elbow. "Time for you to keep quiet."

He moved her to the table and opened the bag there, glancing to her as she caught her breath at the action. "Whatever you posses is Captain Aizen's now. None of this is yours anymore," he said, rummaging through the bag. What he saw was merely bottles wrapped carefully in soft cloths, a few smaller bundles which he placed on the table.

He unrolled the largest, which revealed a small knife. He chuckled. "So you're armed? Hardly."

"It's for sewing," she said, her hands anxious to take the bag from him.

He shook his head, unrolling another smaller bundle of cloth.

"Careful," she said automatically as several cushions of needles spilled out. "They're sharp."

His hand sorted through the oval cushions of pins and needles, and then moved on to the pouch beside the knife. His hand left her arm to open the drawstring, pouring out the assorted bobbins of different color thread inside, most of muted and earth tones.

"I thought you were a weaver's daughter."

She nodded, biting her lower lip. "I take in clothes mending sometimes."

"As well as your illegal healing practices?" he asked pointedly.

She shook her head, not looking at him. "They're not illegal. Only forgotten, and little used."

His hand clamped around her elbow. "They're not used at all," he said close to her ear. "In most towns you'd be considered a witch."

"I'm not a witch. It's not like that," she insisted, slowly to looking to him. "I'm not hiding anything."

"Except how it's done."

A small frown lent her lips. "It takes years to learn. It's been passed down in my family. Only my family." It wasn't entirely true, she knew, but it was what her grandmother had told her say, and had become her mantra in the five years since the old woman's death.

"Then you won't have any objection to explaining it in detail to the flag ship's surgeon, will you?"

She frowned more intently, shaking her head. "It isn't considered a medical practice," she said reluctantly.

He nodded, slipping the small knife into his pants pocket. "Pack up the rest."

She made an effort at keeping her hands from shaking as she rolled the pin cushions back into the cloth bundles and repacked the other items, relieved that the cork stoppers hadn't come loose from the glass bottles in their protective cloths.

She put them back in the bag, Ulquiorra's hand still on her arm. She tied the bag's closures shut.

"Keep quite while I go on deck," he said as he took her to the side of the room where a narrow door was open to the interior wall near the stairs. Inside it was lit by a candle lantern hanging from the ceiling, and she realized it was the light she'd seen from the dock outside.

The small room contained only was a cot and a stool, nothing more. He released her arm once she was inside.

She turned to look at him as he paused in the doorway, her bag clutched to her chest. He nodded, eyes falling over her for a moment before he pulled the door shut, the lock clicking from outside.

For several long moments Orihime stood still, her arms around the bag, her last possession from what was soon to be her former life as she passed on to a fate she couldn't yet fathom. From above she heard the unruly sounds of drunken pirates returning to the ship, and it prompted her to move.

She stood on tiptoe to see out the small window portside. It was barred, but she could see part of the end of the dock, and she did not like what she saw. A steady, wobbling line of men of varying sizes and armaments entered the gangplank, their abrasive language making her cringe.

"What have I done, Tatsuki?" she whispered to no one. Her hazel eyes followed a few of the men until they were out of her range of vision. "So many..."

The door opened suddenly and Orihime made a muted cry as she spun around.

Ulquiorra shut the door behind him, in his one hand a plate of food and two bottles in the other, a metal cup inverted over one's end.

"Your supper, which I believe you've missed tonight."

She remained with her back to the wall as he placed the plate on the cot, eyes on her terrified face.

"Keep up your strength, Orihime," he said, a slight grin on his face. "You never know when we'll be wrecked at sea, and you'll need to swim for shore." He put the bottles on the floor at the corner of the cot foot. He glanced at the meekly burning candle in the lantern overhead. "Eat quickly. Your candle will soon be out."

She didn't move as he left, but this time there was no clicking of the lock. For a moment she simply watched the bronze latch of the door.

She debated testing it to see if the door was locked, and after what seemed like half an hour of contemplation, she took the few steps to it, and put a hand on the latch. She moved it only a few inches, feeling no resistance, a small snapping sound making her take her hand from it quickly.

Unlocked.

She frowned, her heart racing as she considered what it meant, if anything. She was about to reach for the latch again when a sudden lurch of the ship jolted her against the wall. She caught herself, banging her elbow on the door latch, and then moved to kneel at the cot side as the bottles dumped over, both spilling part of their contents. She righted them, frowning at the water and faintly red wine that seeped onto the wooden floor. She reached for the cup that had rolled under the cot, the swinging lantern above her making the light dance erratically around the small room.

She set her bag on the mattress beside the plate, biting her lower lip to keep the tears threatening her eyes at bay. She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, the fingers of her other hand still keeping the bottles upright as the ship made another dip, followed by an abrupt turn.

The tears won out, falling down her cheeks despite her attempt to hold them back. She switched positions to sit beside the cot, her back against the edge of the mattress as she choked back the noise of her sobs, her hand still on the bottles. She drew up her knees, one arm wrapping around them, burying her face in her skirt.

Tatsuki, Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu, her grandmother, even Rukia -- all their faces swarmed her mind as she thought back on the preceding evening.

All lost to her now.

* * *

The early morning light shed into the small room usually used for storage, brightening it in mockingly cheerful sunlight, the bars outlined dark against the opposite wall from the cot. Orihime opened her eyes slowly from where she lay on the mattress, her first sight proving all too true her nightmare from the day before.

She sighed shallowly, hearing the water lap at the side of the wooden hull of the ship as her eyes followed the heat shimmers that played through the window, making the shadows of the bars dance on the wall. Already the day was getting hot.

She hadn't been truthful with Captain Schiffer the night before. She wasn't a witch, but her method of healing some of the most serious injuries wasn't a skill that could be taught to just anyone. Not her mother.

Her mother's jealousy was what had led to her nearly daily beatings as a child, until the day her older brother Sora had taken her from their parents' house and moved them to Karakura, where her grandmother lived.

"Not every female child in our family has it," her grandmother had told her. "Not all women. Not your mother. I tried, princess, but she lacked the talent."

Since then, Orihime had sometimes wished she could give her gift of healing away if it meant she could regain her mother's affection. But it was only wishful thinking.

It wasn't all from the teaching or practice of honing her skill that she'd learned from her grandmother. There'd been more. The extra subtle necessities, the deft skills she'd practiced to complete the tasks of healing. It had been fun to learn at first, a challenge, sometimes almost a dare.

But it was necessary, especially among strangers.

She sat up slowly, the mattress more comfortable than she'd expected. She leaned against the wall and drew her legs to her side, taking a better look at the small room.

The candle had drowned itself out shortly after she'd eaten most of the stew-like dinner and roll that had been left for her. She'd drunk the entire bottle of water, and a few sips of the wine, finding it weak, for which she was glad. She and Tatsuki usually diluted any wine they drank with water, and she was not eager to dull any of her senses. At least, not yet.

The wall opposite her had a door to the most interior side, and she realized it was one of the doors she'd seen in the short hall of the half stairs they descended the night before. Her eyes went to where the latch would have been, but it was missing, the spot covered by a square bronze plate. She stood up and smoothed her skirt before going to the door and examining it closer. Her hand ran along the frame where it should have opened.

There was no latch, but she could see where the door had been nailed shut to the frame. She pushed on it, carefully at first, and then with more effort when the door remained unmoving. She was about to heave her shoulder against it when she heard sounds from above, footsteps and voices calling, followed by a bell ringing several times.

She stood back, and then flinched as the door to her right opened. Ulquiorra opened the door wide, dressed much as he had been the night before minus the jacket. He nodded to her.

"Come out." He looked to the bag at the side of her cot. "Leave your bag."

This time Orihime got a good look at the larger room's furnishings as she followed him into it. The desk and chair at one side were nearly mirrored by the desk and set of chairs across the room, the windows located in exact locations over either. The sunlight shone brighter across the worn wooden floor, illuminating the built-in bookshelves that lined the walls. At the rear wall of the room was an open doorway leading into what appeared to be his private quarters, and through it she could see a modest bed and several cases against the walls.

The main room was clean and organized, which surprised her, the airiness of it. She stopped short as Ulquiorra turned to her, and then looked past her.

"Wonderweiss, take her plate and the bottles back to the cook," he said.

Orihime yelped as she saw the teenage boy at her side, his quiet approach eluding her. He was dressed in brown pants and a tan shirt that appeared too large on him, his crooked posture making him appear shorter than he actually was.

He was looking at her, nearly salivating, but made no sound as he turned and went into the small room where she'd slept.

"Don't touch anything else," Ulquiorra called after him. He looked to Orihime and nodded to the desk where a second chair was set before it. "Sit down."

She did as he said, her nervous fingers pulling through her hair that she was sure was still mussed from sleeping. Her eyes went to him as he sat across the desk from her.

Her gaze dropped to the plate of food at the edge of the table, the slices of pineapple and seeded bread roll reminding her she was hungry.

"Have your breakfast, Orihime," Ulquiorra said. Sitting back in his chair, the fingers of the arm he draped at one arm of the chair gesturing to the plate. "You'll be meeting Captain Aizen today."

Her eyes shot to his, the lump in her throat seeming to thicken. She had a dozen questions to ask, but whether he would answer, or even if he was the man to ask, she wasn't certain. She reached for the roll on the plate, her other hand combing what she could of her hair to her temple.

"May I ask you a question, Captain Schiffer?"

He nodded, watching her fingers in her hair. "Ask."

"You said no one in Karakura would get hurt if I went with you." Her hand went to her lap, her eyes on his steady stare. "Captain Grimmjow had set fire to something."

Ulquiorra nodded slowly. "That's no concern of yours. As for Captain Grimmjow, how you mean to address him as is Captain Jaegerjaquez. Captain Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Last night my first mate was referring to Captain Grimmjow with the reverence due another pirate captain by those in Captain Aizen's forces. You will not refer to any captain in those forces with such familiarity until you are invited to."

Orihime had stopped listening as he spoke, the name Jaegerjaquez having halted her attentiveness. She knew the name, had heard Isshin Kurosaki speak it. She also knew he was supposed to be imprisoned on charges of horse theft and piracy. Her mind wove back to what Ulquiorra had said. She nodded. "I didn't know that. I apologize, Captain Schiffer."

He watched her take a small bite of the bread, her eyes frowning at the plate before her. "You know the name Jaegerjaquez?"

She nodded, looking to him.

"Then you'll probably know more of them in Captain Aizen's league." He sat closer to the table, resting his arms across the edge as her attention remained on him. "How have you heard of him?"

She frowned more. "Pirate stories from the port towns. What everyone else has heard," she offered, not wanting to divulge her own information on the name.

"Have you heard of Captain Jiruga?"

She unconsciously pinched the roll. "The cannibal?"

He shrugged. "So it's been rumored. Captain Halibel?"

She nodded slightly. "The woman pirate."

"Yes." More of a grin came to his face, but it added no humor to his voice. "Captain Stark?"

"No. I don't think so." She took another bite of the roll, its light flavor lost on her new worries, her eyes going to the glass of water by the plate.

"Have you heard of me?" he asked.

Orihime didn't know whether she should be truthful or flatter him. There was no hint on how she should answer in his expression when she looked to him. "No, I haven't."

"Good." He sat back, nodding contentedly. "Very good."

She waited for him to name another pirate captain, but he didn't. She looked down at the plate, her fingers going to its side, a faint touch along the table that went barely noticed by Ulquiorra. "You don't want to be known as a pirate?" she ventured.

"I don't care if my name is recognized or not, Orihime. It matters not to me."

Her fingers curled away from the table, and she knew she'd been sloppy in the movement when his eyes went to her hand. He looked to the staircase as Wonderweiss climbed it. Ulquiorra's eyes went back to her, and for a long moment he inspected her appearance with less than his usual detached objectivity.

"No hair brush in that bag?" he asked, frowning at the sudden startle claiming her face at the simple query.

"No, you went through it last night," she said deliberately, setting the roll back on the plate. "There's nothing hidden in the bag. You have the knife. Everything else is for my mending and healing."

He nodded. From above Yammy's booming voice called out a garbled announcement. Ulquiorra stood and turned to the window behind him. He opened the shutter fully to look out over the waters. After a moment of searching he spotted the small dot that broke the horizon.

He looked back to Orihime. "Make yourself presentable. You'll be meeting your master soon."

Before she could respond he went to the door at the back of the room and pulled it shut, locking it silently. Without looking at her he crossed the room and took the stairs to the upper deck.

Orihime's lips soured into a frown as the words sank into her. Her hand gripped the edge of the table as a wave of dizziness swept her. She pursed her lips and made herself sit straighter, attempting to slow her breathing to a more normal rhythm.

She stood up and drank the glass of water, and then with a quick glance to the staircase, she moved to the side of the desk to see out the window.

Cobalt water lapping with white caps was all to be seen for a moment beneath the cloudless sky that beat hot over the ship, and then she saw the small black spot of indiscernible shape.

She looked down to her hand. In her fingers was a single strand of black hair. It was a few inches long, thick in texture and straight. She looked to the chair where Ulquiorra had been sitting.

With a final look to the window, she placed the strand of hair beside her plate again, and sat down to wait.


	3. Chapter 3

It was nearly noon by the time Orihime was called onto deck. She passed the time sitting across from the desk in Ulquiorra's office, watching through the window the enlarging black dot on the horizon close the distance on the brilliant blue waters. The outline of what eventually became visible as a ship veered fore as it reached the _Midori_, the men that lined the rail becoming discernible as it neared.

She'd followed the passing of the new ship as it grew closer, standing and edging to the desk corner to see out the window for a better view. The cooler breeze that found its way in was welcome, but was soon diluted as she heard the calls that broke out from the main deck above.

She hadn't known the name of the vessel she was on, Captain Schiffer's ship, but as soon as the second ship was close enough a man's voice had greeted it. She wasn't eager to look further out the window as the new ship disappeared from her hesitant watch. Already she'd seen some of the men at the rail of the arriving ship turn their attention to the ship's rear quarters.

Orihime hid beside the window frame, peeking around the side of the wooden opening just enough to see the new ship's stern. It was a larger ship than the one she was on, faded gold paint trimming the rails and quarterdeck, the sails clean and without patches or mends high overhead. Her eyes went to the fanciful letters that marked the ship's name.

_Five Mirrors_. She'd never heard of it before.

"Ahoy, _Midori_!" a man's sing-song tone hailed from the rail. "Permission to board your vessel, Captain Ulquiorra?"

"Permission granted, Lieutenant Ichimaru," Ulquiorra's voice called back from the _Midori's_ deck.

Orihime looked around the corner of the window frame, pulling her hair to her neck as the wind blew it out through the window. She ducked back into the cabin as two of the shortest in the line of men at the rail looked her way. She frowned, her brief glimpse of the two figures striking her curiosity. They were smaller, slighter, one with black hair, but the other with short and unmistakably blue hair. It wasn't a common color of hair, but she'd heard of the rarity before.

A few more unintelligible voices were heard from outside the window, and she looked back at the new ship after a moment.

Three figures were walking the short gangplank extended from the _Midori_, all in black pants and long beige jackets with the loose cut of an officer but without the usual adornments of insignia. The man leading was tall and straight, his gait easy on the wooden plank bobbing between the two ships. Behind him was a black-skinned man with a white band of cloth tied across his eyes, but he navigated the walkway without hesitation. Lastly was a taller man with white-blond hair, who looked her way as he followed the men before him.

She pulled back into the room as her heart began to pound faster, keeping time with the sudden difficulty she had breathing, as if her very heart was blocking her throat. She turned to lean against the wall, her back to the window. A hundred thoughts flew through her head as she tried to breathe slower. She closed her eyes against the reality of her decision to follow Ulquiorra the night before, only to open them quickly as another man's voice hailed the ship.

Over the next twenty minutes there were indistinguishable sounds from above, men talking, a short scuffle of feet, a brief rising of voices over a conflict, followed by another greeting called from across the water, this one on the opposite side of the ship and more to the ship's front. Orihime went to the opposite side of the room and looked out the window Ulquiorra had left open by the table.

Voices grew louder from the main deck, an argument ensuing between two of the men, with a third seeming to mediate in a milder tone.

The staircase creaked and Orihime turned her attention from the window and what she could see of the canted stern of another third ship. Ulquiorra looked to her as he reached the bottom step.

"Come up now, Orihime."

The deck was surrounded by men from three ships, nearly every one armed with both sword and dagger. Those dozen or so gathered on the main deck were from the _Midori_, their gray and black pants and shirts more of a uniform than those from the men of the visiting ships. There weren't many, but Orihime thought she could distinguish them by their clothing. The three men with the tan long jackets were standing center at the main derrick, now accompanied by another slender man with pink hair. He was dressed in a lavender coat and pale gray pants that gave him a deceptively effeminate appearance, the only one with no sword at his waist.

The final set of men were distinguished by their apparent lack of uniformity. The five men from the ship last to arrive stood across from the three men in beige jackets, their clothing consisting of black pants and white tunics belted with black sashes at their waists, swords holstered at their hips. The tallest also wore a loose black vest that dropped over his sash. It was he that was confronting the black man with the white cloth tied across his eyes.

The argument between the two men didn't stop when Ulquiorra brought Orihime on deck and told her to stay at the quarterdeck stair. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the bright sunlight of the main deck as she looked to the black man in the beige jacket as he berated the man in the vest with blue hair as Ulquiorra joined the argument.

"You stepped beyond your orders," Tousen snapped at Grimmjow. "_The Pantera_ was to be nowhere near the harbor, and certainly not in Karakura. As a captain your transgression is especially offensive."

Grimmjow threw off the affront with a wave of his hand. "If you want to get the King's attention you need to rattle a cage, Tousen."

"He's right," Aizen said, standing a few feet further back from Tousen's side, Ichimaru and Szayel flanking him. "You were out of line, Captain Grimmjow, and as such a reprimand is in order."

Grimmjow turned a caustic stare on his superior. "Yours isn't the only agenda on my mind, _Captain_," he said heatedly. "I've my own grudge with Kurosaki."

"Save it for another time," Aizen said, glancing to where Orihime stood watching, outright alarm on her face. He looked back to Grimmjow. "You can finish your complaint against the Kurosaki estate, or any other noble family, after you've completed your debt to me. Five ships and the treasure, and _The Pantera_ is yours again, free and clear."

"Let's not forget your freedom Captain Aizen gave back to you, either," Tousen added. "You've read the flag ship's articles and signed them, Grimmjow. You know what happens to a man who reaches for what is not his under Captain Aizen's command."

"To hell with your articles," Grimmjow grumbled, looking to where Ulquiorra stood, and then beyond him at Orihime.

Tousen drew his sword, the action echoed by the sound of steel drawn all across the ship sides, each man from all three ships following suit. From the two other ships bordering the _Midori_ the crews stood at the ready with their weapons.

Grimmjow's attention snapped back to the man before him, a moment too late as Tousen's blade lashed out in a strike that sliced through the white of his shirt just above his left elbow.

Grimmjow's surprised shout was drowned out by the lanky man behind him extending his sword point to the black man, followed by Grimmjow drawing his own weapon at his side. He lunged toward Tousen, blade raised as Ichimaru stepped forward, his sword intercepting Grimmjow's before it reached Tousen.

"I have to agree with Lieutenant Ichimaru," Aizen said placidly, near amusement on his face as he met Grimmjow's glower. "Sheath your sword, Captain. You too, Tousen."

For a moment Grimmjow's hand remained tight around the sword hilt, his left arm dangling, bleeding freely from the elbow as he pulled it to his side. His eyes narrowed at Ichimaru's smirking face across the crossed swords.

He stepped back and lowered his sword, gritting his teeth against the pain at his maimed arm as Tousen turned a blank face to him. After a moment Tousen holstered his sword.

"As a captain I'll overlook your rush to action this time," Aizen said to Grimmjow. "Any other man would have lost the arm. You will keep in mind for the future that you and your ship are mine until you've satisfied your end of our bargain." He looked to Ulquiorra, and crossed the deck to where he stood a few feet in front of Orihime.

"So this is Orihime Inoue," he said almost kindly, smiling slightly at the girl.

Ulquiorra nodded. "Yes, Captain. As you requested."

Orihime bowed, her fingers clutched before her as she looked up at Aizen, her eyes shifting to Grimmjow holding his wounded arm.

Aizen nodded, tilting his head to see her face better as she looked to him again. "I can see what young Kurosaki would find attractive in her," he said, bringing low chuckles from the men surrounding the deck at the rails. "It's rumored you can heal injuries otherwise considered fatal. Is that true, girl?"

She nodded, her voice failing her. She'd expected him to be a monster, not the personable man who now stood before her. She cleared her throat. "Many, sir, but not all."

He nodded. "Let's give that a test, shall we?" He turned to Ulquiorra still watching attentively. "May we have the use of your office, Captain Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra nodded.

Aizen turned to look to the officers and men on deck and those scores of pirates watching from the two other ships before his gaze settled on Tousen, and then went to Grimmjow.

"Tousen, bring Luppi over. Captain Jaegerjaquez, come with us."

Orihime descended the staircase to the master cabin, her eyes adjusting to the lesser light of the room after the sunny deck above, Ulquiorra's hand on her shoulder behind her. She was almost thankful for it, the steadying grasp on her shoulder needed as her feet trembled into missteps on the stairs as she followed Wonderweiss to the lower level. Behind her Ulquiorra, Aizen, Ichimaru, and Grimmjow entered the office, the room filling quickly with the men as she moved to the side.

Aizen looked around at the spacious cabin, nodding in satisfaction. "An orderly vessel, as always, Ulquiorra," he said, looking to his host who stood at Orihime's side.

Ulquiorra looked to Grimmjow holding his arm at the elbow where the blood was seeping through the white material of sleeve, his fingers covered in red. "Would you care for tea or saké, Captain Aizen?"

"We'll set aside formalities to address Captain Grimmjow's injuries first." Aizen glanced to the staircase as Szayel made his slow ascent.

The smile on the pink-haired man's face fixed on Orihime, broadening until he looked to Aizen. "This being a medical matter, Captain, I'd like to sit in."

Aizen nodded and looked to Orihime. "Our ship's surgeon, Officer Szayel. He'll be observing your methods."

She nodded, her words falling short when she tried to speak.

Aizen looked to Ulquiorra. "I believe saké would be fine. Something stronger for Captain Grimmjow."

"Sit down so she can get started," Ulquiorra said stiffly to Grimmjow. He looked to Wonderweiss. "Fetch the maiden's bag."

Wonderweiss disappeared into the small room Orihime had slept in the night before.

Grimmjow turned a chair to face out from the table and sat down, his back to it, wincing as he held his injured arm closer to his chest. He looked to Orihime still standing a few feet away, her eyes transfixed on the right side of his face where a scar ran the length of his jawbone.

His sharp glare fell over her figure, resting on the filled out blouse above her belt, lingering on what he could see of her shoulders where the wide collar swept across her chest beneath her loose hair. With his foot he moved the nearest chair closer to him, watching as her attention rose from the scar to his eyes.

Wonderweiss handed her the bag and she took it and sat in the chair beside Grimmjow, facing the table. Aizen and Ichimaru took seats at the other end of the table as Ulquiorra found glasses and several bottles in a cupboard near the wall that adjoined the rear private quarters. He set one bottle and a glass between Grimmjow and Orihime and then took a seat on the other side of Aizen, opposite from Ichimaru at the table.

Orihime pulled the bag into her lap and opened it as Szayel leaned over her shoulder, eclipsing part of the light that came in from one of the windows.

"Have a drink with us before you swoop in on the carnage," Ichimaru said, grinning at Szayel's rapt attention on the items Orihime took from the bag.

Szayel sent him a cool look, but Aizen nodded. Szayel stepped to the opposite side of the table, still watching the girl.

"Captain Grimmjow's venture outside his orders may interfere with the impact I wanted to leave on Karakura," Aizen said as Ichimaru poured four glasses of saké for the men at that side of the table. "Burning down the king's choice of horse breeding stables doesn't convey the benevolence I wanted the town to believe I am capable of."

Orihime kept her eyes on her work, unrolling a cloth to choose a needle from the cushion inside as he spoke, making herself breath more regularly. She looked to Grimmjow's arm where his hand was pressed to the paling appendage.

"You left the town standing," he said to Aizen, muttering an oath as he pushed his hand harder on his arm as blood trickled from his fingers. "That's enough."

"You went against orders," Ichimaru reminded, drinking half his saké.

Orihime looked to the man at her side as the officers turned to talk of their own. Grimmjow's blue hair was unusual, but not something for which she was unprepared. She opened the pouch containing the bobbins of thread and sorted through them. Wonderweiss appeared at her side and set a ceramic bowl, a small pitcher of water, and several cotton cloths and a roll of bandages on the table.

She murmured her thanks to him, and he went to stand near the staircase, sounds of the crews above audible through the still open door at the top. She chose a bobbin of gray thread and placed it and the needle to the side, and then looked to Grimmjow's arm.

"With your permission, Captain," she said by way of inquiry.

His glare lessened somewhat as he took his hand from the injured arm nearest her between them and with a painful effort rested the elbow at the edge of the table, stifling down a grunt at the movement.

She sat closer to the table, deciding that it was one of the deeper wounds she'd attended alone since she'd left her grandmother's tutelage. The white sleeve was barely connected to the shirt, the flesh above his elbow cut from the inside to the outer bone across the triceps to expose the white and red of the muscle inside where the blood had collected.

She bit her lower lip as she frowned, eyes rising to Grimmjow's as he watched her contemplation of the wound. She reached over his arm and took the bottle of whiskey and the glass and pulled the cork. She poured the glass full and set it on the table near him.

He took it, downed the strong alcohol quickly and grabbed the bottle and took a long drink from it, then poured himself another before she could move.

Under his stare she poured water from the pitcher into the basin and soaked one of the cloths in it, trying not to listen to the four men in conversation at the other side of the table.

"I think the situation is salvageable," Aizen was saying, glancing to Grimmjow for a moment. "But any more mistakes like that one and there will be no chance at laying claim to _The Pantera_ again."

Ulquiorra and Ichimaru watched Grimmjow hold Aizen's stare for a long moment before Szayel took the few steps to watch from behind Orihime as she worked. She squeezed the water from the cloth and bent over Grimmjow's arm. Carefully she pushed the bloodied sleeve up past the injury and testily wiped the stains from around the laceration that wrapped nearly around his arm. It was deep, showing the white of bone as the flesh yawned open at the center.

She washed the blood from the area and folded another dry cloth to hold gently to the sides of the cut still seeping red. He didn't say anything directly, but she heard a low cursing beneath his breath as she applied more pressure to the cloth until the bleeding stopped.

"Once Captains Halibel and Jiruga arrive they'll head with Captain Grimmjow to the southern ports next on our list for termination," Aizen said as Ichimaru poured them all another drink, except for Szayel, who was still sipping his, intently watching Orihime's work. "They'll carry out our plan as ordered," he added as Grimmjow looked his way, "and I want it to be thorough. The devastation must be complete. Karakura must look like but a ripple in a tidal wave by comparison."

"We'll get it done," Grimmjow said through clenched teeth as Orihime blotted another dry cloth at his arm.

"No insubordination this time," Aizen said.

Grimmjow barely nodded.

Ichimaru half turned in his chair to see Luppi clamoring down the staircase to where the men sat. He looked around at them, bowing hastily to Aizen, and then a grin broke across his face when he saw Grimmjow's arm being treated. He sniggled, bringing a growl from Grimmjow.

"Luppi, I have a task for you," Aizen said.

The youth nodded quickly at him. "Captain."

"Fetch my stationery from my cabin and bring it here," he said, nodding. "Mind you don't fall overboard."

"Yes, Captain Aizen," the boy said, dashing back up the staircase.

Satisfied the wound had stopped bleeding, Orihime set the bloodied towel on the edge of the bowl of water and selected two rolls of cloth from the bag and removed the outer fabric coverings. She uncorked the two small bottles and set them near the bowl, shying slightly from Szayel as he stood closer to see the liquids tinted sienna and a strangely sparkling clear color in the glass containers.

He reached for one. "Very interesting remedies, maiden. You keep them unmarked?"

"Szayel, not now," Aizen said, watching Orihime as she pulled the bottles closer to her. "Time enough for trade secrets later."

Szayel stood back, evident disappointment on his face.

Orihime glanced from Aizen to Ichimaru and then to Ulquiorra, all watching her intently, before she turned back to Grimmjow's arm and began pulling a measure of thread from the gray bobbin. She looked back to them as Ulquiorra stood and set her small knife on the table beside her.

"Thank you," she said.

He sat back down, watching her and her patient.

The three men's conversation continued about the next planned attack on the port towns. Orihime tried to make her hands steady completely as she cut the gray thread and dipped the end of it several times in the silvery liquid from the bottle.

It was something she had practiced many times before, but this time she was more nervous than ever under Szayel's close scrutiny and the watch of the man whose arm she tended. She tucked her hair behind her ear, and drew her thumb and fingertip down the strand of thread from the wet end, smoothing it.

She looked to Grimmjow's arm, her eyes going to his reddened sleeve rolled above his elbow, her gaze flicking to his only fleetingly. She adjusted the sleeve higher at his elbow, her fingers deftly collecting the single strand of blue hair she saw there. The movement went unnoticed by the men, and she dipped the end of the thread into the reddish brown tinted fluid in the second bottle, and then smoothed it with her fingers, adding the light blue strand of hair with the longer auburn one she'd taken from her own hair until they disappeared along the gray thread, clinging obediently to the wet cotton strand.

She drew her fingers down the combined thread and strands of hair, the latter invisible against the gray thread. Grimmjow leaned closer to her as she threaded the needle, his breath whiskey-laden as he scowled at the needle and thread. He sat back as Luppi returned with the two younger women from Aizen's ship.

Orihime kept her attention on her work as she bent over Grimmjow's arm, her hand cupped beneath the back of his elbow, and stuck the needle's sharp point into the skin above the laceration's side near the end. She pulled it through until there were only a few inches of thread remaining at the end, feeling the muscle beneath her hand tauten as she worked. She carefully pushed the needle into the open side of flesh across the open gape of skin and through the top, looking timidly to Grimmjow.

His expression was neutral, the third of the bottle of whiskey he'd drunk having dulled the pain lacing his arm to a more tolerable level. She looked back to the thread, and with her hand from under his arm pulled the edges of the severed sides together so the skin was again touching. She looped the thread over the opposite side and tied it snug enough to secure the severed edges together. She tied it again, snipping the ends with the small knife before moving on to the next stitch.

"That's it?" Szayel asked, leaning a hand on the back of her chair so he could see over her head as she worked. "You simply sew it up like any other wound?" His attention rested on the bag and two bottles of liquid on the table. "What concoctions are those?"

"Szayel, another time," Aizen reminded.

Szayel stood back.

Aizen looked to where Loly and Menoly now stood with Luppi awaiting instructions. They all three were dressed nearly identical, their black pants blooming too large on their smaller forms, but with their tan tunics belted by black sashes at their waists, Loly with a small dagger tucked in hers. "Good. Thank you, Luppi. Lolly and Menoly, I have an errand for you two."

Loly smiled, which fell away when she glanced to Orihime.

He turned to Ulquiorra at his side as Ichimaru poured another round of drinks. "Our new addition is not one I want exposed to battle, if it can be avoided," he said to Ulquiorra. "I'm leaving the maid Inoue in your escort to my villa in Las Noches," he decided.

Ulquiorra frowned at him. "You want me to take her there? On this ship?"

Aizen nodded. "Away from any fighting. For now."

He looked down the table to where Orihime had paused her work, fingers stilling on Grimmjow's arm as the needle poised over the half stitched wound. She looked from Aizen to Ulquiorra, then her eyes dropped to the arm beneath her hands. She reached for a damp cloth and gently wiped a trickle of blood that had started across the side of his arm near the elbow.

Ulquiorra nodded. "Yes, Captain."

"Make sure she gets whatever she needs, flora, herbs, medicinals," Aizen said, watching her lean over Grimmjow's arm. "The outlying islands around the bay at Las Noches are abundant in those necessities."

Ulquiorra nodded more slowly. "I understand."

Aizen held out his hand to Luppi. "The stationery."

Luppi handed him a leather bag that was buckled closed in the middle.

"When you're finished there, Orihime," Aizen said, giving her a moment to look to him, "you're to detail a letter to your intended, Ichigo Kurosaki, legally breaking your engagement to him of your own volition."

This time her hands halted on Grimmjow's arm with more pressure, her fingers curling across his skin until nearly at the still open part of the wound. A low sound came from him, and she looked quickly back, her fingers jerking away from the injury. She turned her attention again to Aizen

She nodded. "Yes. Captain Aizen."

"Good." He set the leather bag on the table and looked to Loly and Menoly, smiling at the dark-haired girl's barely contained infuriation as she glared at Orihime. "Loly and Menoly, you're to go to my private quarters and bring back the wicker trunk there. It's not too heavy; I think you can manage it. If not, have one of the men help you."

"We can do it, Captain," Menoly assured.

"Good. Hurry now."

Menoly pushed an unresponsive Loly up the staircase.

Orihime finished closing the final gaping end of the wound at Grimmjow's elbow with six more stitches, her mind on Aizen's words, but her fingers precise in their work. She tied off the last stitch and poked the needle and thread deep into the pin cushion, burying it to the eye and fragment of thread. She looked down as Grimmjow flexed his fingers slowly on the wounded arm, gritting his teeth at the lethargic movements. The skin around the dark red line of stitches was slightly swollen and purple bruising had taken hold from midway on his forearm to the elbow point.

"How long will this take to heal?" Szayel asked from behind her. "How complete will it heal? A very nasty injury, it was. I'd have to say he'll lose much of its use, given the depth of Tousen's blade."

Orihime squeezed the excess water out a wet cloth from the bowl and wiped the red stains from the side of Grimmjow's arm. "The length of time to heal depends on the wounded person's resolve," she said, not looking to Grimmjow's face as she felt him study the arm. "The same is true about recovery. He may have full use."

"Unbelievable," Szayel said, chuckling. "But a fascinating prospect."

She finished washing the arm and looked to Grimmjow's other hand as he set the empty glass between them on the table, fingerprints red in blood at the sides. He sat straighter, frowning at the neat stitches crossing his arm. She rinsed the cloth in the water basin and again wrung out the excess before reaching for his free hand to wash the nearly dried bloodstains from it where he'd held the injured arm earlier.

Ulquiorra frowned at her actions, looking from her to Grimmjow, who watched the top of her auburn hair as she held his wrist palm side up on her knee and washed the red from it. He looked to Aizen also observing.

"As I understand it, Captain Aizen," Ulquiorra said, ignoring the smirk crossing Ichimaru's face, "any captain in your service must be able to draw a blade with both hands, or else lose their ship to the next in line."

Luppi snickered at the remark until Grimmjow's scolding glare snapped to him.

"He's right," Ichimaru said with a nod, looking to Grimmjow. "Both hands."

Aizen tapped the table with a fingers, gaze on Orihime. "Perhaps Captain Grimmjow should step down until he can perform to his full capacity."

Grimmjow's attention shot to the three men. "I'm at full capacity now. Captain."

Ichimaru shook his head. "Not likely, with that sewing."

Grimmjow sent him a dark look, pulling his hand from Orihime's clutch. In a fluid movement he snatched the knife from the back of his belt with the hand of his injured arm, carefully avoiding letting the blade make contact with Orihime as she sat back quickly with a short yelp. He held the large bladed knife up for Aizen to see, clenching his teeth at the skyrocketing pain the action had brought through the left arm.

Ichimaru chuckled as Ulquiorra scowled. "A blade drawn is not much good if it's not useful, Grimmjow."

Aizen nodded. "He has a point."

Grimmjow looked past Orihime's terrified face to each of the three men, and then turned to where Luppi was still standing center of the room awaiting more orders. Grimmjow flung the knife in his direction. It spun through the air, clipping Luppi's earlobe before it stuck in the opposite wall near the window.

Luppi screamed and grabbed both hands to his ear, eyes gaping wide at Grimmjow. "You almost killed me, Captain!"

"Shut up," Grimmjow growled at him. "If I wanted to kill you you'd be dead, gnat shit."

"Enough," Aizen said with a sigh, scowling at him. "You've proven your point, Captain Grimmjow. You may keep your ship." More of a smile came to him as he looked to Orihime's startled face. "Nothing serious, Maid Inoue. Grumblings among brethren. Nothing for your concern." He glanced to the staircase as Loly and Menoly made an awkward appearance, half tumbling down the steps carrying a medium sized wicker chest by the rope handles between them. "Go help them, Luppi."

The youth nodded, giving Grimmjow a hurt frown. He grabbed the handle from Menoly, the other hand still at his slightly bleeding ear. Loly tugged back from him, a bitter look in her eyes as she glowered at Orihime. From one edge of the lid a white frilled skirt hem was visible where it had been hurriedly closed.

Szayel looked around Orihime to watch her repack the bag at the table, raising an eyebrow as his curiosity piqued at the innocuous looking bottles and bobbins of thread. "Your remedy works fast, maiden. I wonder how much is your doing and how much is Captain Jaegerjaquez's determination to keep his ship."

She didn't answer aloud, simply nodding in response.

"The essentials for your voyage to Las Noches," Aizen said to Orihime, standing and walking to the chest, shaking his head at the white hem peeking from the lid. He glanced to Loly and Menoly, but said nothing of it.

Ulquiorra and Ichimaru stood when Aizen did, the former looking with guarded curiosity to the chest as Aizen glanced to him.

"I'm sending crewmen Loly and Menoly with you while Orihime is in your custody," he said.

Loly gasped at this, shaking her head until Menoly batted at her hand.

Ulquiorra nodded, gaze leveling on the two girls. "I can arrange quarter for them."

"Good." Aizen looked to Grimmjow's arm as Orihime prepared to wrap it with the roll of bandages.

Szayel smiled ingratiatingly at him. "Ah, Captain, I'd like permission to accompany the maid to Las Noches. I'm sure Captain Ulquiorra can put me up, and I'd like to converse at length with the girl about her extraordinary methods."

Orihime kept her focus on her the bandages, trying to deny the cold bristling along her back at the surgeon's suggestion.

"I think not," Aizen said. "I need you aboard the _Five Mirrors_ in time of battle. Request denied, Szayel. Loly, Menoly, you'll go to your quarters and pack for your trip."

Szayel looked longingly to Orihime's bag at the table. "But this is such an educational opportunity, Captain."

Orihime scooted her chair closer to Grimmjow's and was about to ask his permission again when he set the newly sutured arm on the table before her. She heard Loly and Menoly take their leave, reluctance in the first girl's voice as they agreed to Aizen's orders. She wrapped the end of the bandage above Grimmjow's elbow to anchor it and tied it just tight enough to keep it from slipping down the joint. With an effort at calming her hands, she carefully wrapped the strip of material around his arm, covering the red line in slowly widening passes until the triceps was bandaged, and then wound it back down for a second layer before beginning the third pass. She cut the length of bandage midway up his upper arm and knotted it at the back, then split it to wrap one side back around and tied it again at the first knot with the first spare bandage end.

She smoothed the bandage, her hand light over the damaged part of his arm near the elbow, glancing to him as he watched her movements. She withdrew her hands to her lap and looked to the leather stationery bag as Aizen slid it closer to her on the table.

Aizen had watched the procedure as Szayel continued to plead his cause to accompany Ulquiorra to Las Noches. He shook his head. "My answer stands. There'll be an opportunity in the future for you to question Maid Inoue. For now, you are dismissed."

Szayel sighed, throwing Ichimaru a crooked smirk. "Very well. With your leave, Captain." He bowed to Aizen and took the staircase to the main deck above.

Orihime looked to her side as Aizen opened the leather bag and withdrew a roll of parchment, bottle of black ink, and a long narrow case, which he opened to reveal a silver stylus.

"Your letter to Isshin and Ichigo Kurosaki will annul your engagement and free the younger to marry another of his choice," Aizen said, unrolling the parchment and setting a sheet before her and pulling the cork cap from the bottle of ink. He placed the stylus beside the single sheet that was curled at the ends from being rolled. "That's all. No word of where you are, or where you're going. Do you understand?"

She nodded, swallowing as she forced her answer. "I understand, Captain Aizen."

He stood closer to her side. "Be sure you make certain your intentions, Orihime Inoue. I want no misunderstanding on the boy's part. You are finished with him."

She nodded, frowning at the stylus as she picked it up and dipped its thin point in the bottle of ink. She let the excess black liquid drip back into the bottle, feeling suddenly as if she wanted to vomit. It took all of her will to coerce Ichigo's name onto the parchment, the few sentences following seeming to be written by someone else and not of her own hand. _It'll clear his way to Rukia now,_ she found herself thinking, the voice in her head a disembodied one that occasionally brought to mind what she knew to be true. He'd be happier with her, she knew. It was inevitable.

She signed her name, feeling not only Aizen but Grimmjow's attention on her as she wrote. She wiped the stylus on the pad in the case and returned it to its holder inside.

Aizen nodded, his hand pulling the still wet inked parchment away as soon as she sat back. "Very good," he said, rereading the few lines of careful wording. "This will be sent to the Kurosaki residence as soon as our messenger ship arrives. Thank you, Orihime." He put one hand on her shoulder, feeling her stiffen at the touch. "Very good."

Grimmjow watched with narrowing eyes as Aizen's fingers brushed the troubled girl's cheek before rolling the parchment, noting her slight recoil.

"Welcome to my fold, Orihime," Aizen said, his smile not reaching his eyes as she refused to look at him. "Gin, we're leaving. Captain Ulquiorra, thank you for the use of your office. Captain Grimmjow, you have your orders to join Captains Halibel and Jiruga."

Grimmjow didn't move immediately, his stare still on Orihime's downcast eyes that shone with unshed tears.

Then he pulled his arm from the table and stood up to leave.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and/or favorited this story!_


	4. Chapter 4

Orihime stood at the quarterdeck stair and watched the _Five Mirrors_ depart under sunny skies, the calls of the crews from three ships evading her as the events of the last hour overwhelmed her that afternoon. Aizen's ship turned to head north, he and Ichimaru facing away from her as Tousen barked orders to the crew. Above them flew a white flag with a sky blue lily of the valley frond, seemingly out of place over a pirate ship.

Orihime frowned at it, then looked to the flag above the _Midori_. It was a black version of the same flag, a white flower replacing the blue one, with a curve-bladed battle sword arching over it.

She'd thought the smirking man called Gin was Aizen's first mate, but Ulquiorra had put her straight. While Tousen was first mate, Ichimaru was second in command to anything Aizen did, be it on land or sea. Ulquiorra had given her permission to remain topside as Loly and Menoly were taken to their new quarters below in the little-used cabin beside Yammy's, putting them across the hall from her own small room.

On the other side of the door to the companionway that was sealed shut, Orihime guessed. She glanced to where Ulquiorra watched her from the quarterdeck, his attention turning from looking after the _Five Mirrors_ heading north. A moment later he joined her and took her to the portside rail where _The Pantera_ was setting a course south.

Ulquiorra looked through a spyglass across the blue waters at the ship that made sail under the rising wind. "I wasn't expecting to quarter you, Orihime. Your accommodations will be adequate, but nothing more."

She nodded, her fingernails digging into the drab black paint of the rail as she watched the ship in the distance. He handed her the scope and she took it carefully, raising it to her eye to look out over the white-capped waters. She closed one eye, taking a moment to focus on the vessel.

"You're to take your orders from me only," he said, his serious tone making her turn her attention to him. "Not Menoly or Loly. If they get any order from me to give to you, I'll have told you about it in advance. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Captain," she said, frowning at the somberness in his face. She looked back out over the water, raising the glass again. At the rear of _The Pantera's_ quarterdeck she could see a figure looking back beneath the filled sails, Grimmjow's blue hair unmistakable even at the distance although his features indistinguishable.

"He's supposed to fly the flag. The idiot." Ulquiorra's hand closed around the glass, lowering it as she tried to focus the lens better on the far-off figure.

"What flag?" she asked before thinking of her words, hands still on the scope. Ulquiorra released it and she trained it higher to see no flag over _The Pantera_ masts. She lowered the scope back to the quarterdeck.

"Captain Aizen's flag." He took the glass, watching the brisk breeze fold her brown skirt around her legs. His eyes rose to hers. "What medicinals do you require for your healing methods? What you need depends on which isles we'll visit before going to Las Noches."

She nodded, her memory calling up what her grandmother had recited to her over her years of training. "Most are the standard medicinals," she said carefully. "Found in shady, mossy areas, and a few others commonly available."

He nodded slightly. "Imparting your secrets to me is of no concern, girl. I know nothing of medicinals, nor do I care to. It's Szayel that will interrogate those secrets from you." He grinned a little at the fright slipping over her face. "But don't tell him. Don't tell him unless Captain Aizen orders you to."

She nodded, one hand moving a strand of hair from her face as the wind whipped it, then crossing her arms as it brought a chill to her loose sleeves. "I won't, Captain Schiffer."

He reached for her wrist, pulling her arm away from her when he felt more resistance at the action. He pushed the shorter sable sleeve up from her wrist to expose the chemise's white material beneath. The drawstring laces at the cuff there were tied at her wrist. His eyes flicked back up to hers.

"Long sleeves in the summer? Both dress and chemise?"

She nodded, frowning a little.

He released her arm. "Where were you coming home from when I found you yesterday?"

"My brother's grave," she said after a pause. She put her hand to the sleeve edges. "It's chilly there."

"Casting spells?"

She shook her head immediately. "I'm not a witch, Captain."

He nodded, looking to the deck behind them as a call went up from Yammy. He looked back to Orihime and took her elbow. "We're turning into the wind. Come below and you can see what your master has provided for you."

She nodded and went with him, but not before sending a last glance to _The Pantera_ fading smaller in the distance. Far off on the horizon another ship was barely visible, its course aligned parallel to _The Pantera_.

Ulquiorra noted her gaze. "The _Twin Sisters_. Captain Halibel's ship." He pointed northward to where Aizen's ship was just ready to disappear to the naked eye at the horizon. A second dot on the water line could be seen coming from the northwest. "The _Bleeding Sister_. She's under Captain Jiruga now, but she wasn't given to him by Captain Aizen."

Orihime's steps slowed as she watched the second ship turn to intercept the _Five Mirrors_. "Who was she given to?"

He pushed her along quicker as her steps lagged where the stairway opened to the companionway to the lower aft cabins. "The former Captain Nel Odelschwanck. She's something of an idiot now. A real idiot, not the kind Captain Grimmjow chooses to be."

They descended the stairs to find Loly and Menoly in the short hall, standing at the one of the cabin doors, both studying Orihime as she neared them. Ulquiorra's hand on her back moved her ahead without pausing at the girls to the end door of the master cabin.

"Come along," he said to Loly and Menoly as they hovered in the stairway behind. Orihime took the few steps to the lower level in the captain's quarters and stepped to the side near the table as Ulquiorra and the two girls entered the office room behind her.

He looked to Menoly and Loly as they watched Orihime closely, Loly's fuming expression hiding none of her loathing. "While you're on my ship, crewmen," he said slowly as Loly's simmering pout remained on Orihime, "you'll follow orders and keep silent about any opinions you may have of anything."

Menoly nodded immediately. "Yes, Captain."

Loly scowled at Orihime, who looked back to Ulquiorra.

"You too, Loly," he said.

Loly finally looked to him. "Yes. Captain."

Orihime didn't understand the venomous look that came her way from the black-haired girl's glare, but it was unmistakably there. She looked to Menoly, who only returned indifference.

Ulquiorra nodded to the portside window that was halfway open. "Menoly, open it all the way." He turned to Loly as the first girl mumbled a response and went to the window over the table and grunted at opening the wooden screw lock on the sliding shutter. A cooler breeze drifted into the stuffy, warm room.

"I know you've already had your paws through it, but I want to know what's in the chest," he told Loly as Menoly rejoined them. He gestured one hand to the chest as his gaze rested on Orihime. "Show me what Captain Aizen has given you, girl."

Orihime nodded, conscious of the other girls' low grumbles. She knelt at the chest and opened the bamboo and rope latch, lifting the lid to see a mound of material inside. She glanced to Ulquiorra, aware of his growing interest as she pulled out the first dress.

She held up the sleeveless dress of deep violet, seeing him nod. She set it in the lid. "The rest, too, Captain?"

"All of them. I want to know if anything comes up missing," he said as Loly shot him a guilty look.

From the chest she took two more dresses, both of cotton, in colors of pale yellow and teal blue, and then blushed a little as she reached for the bleached chemise beneath.

Ulquiorra nodded at the last item of underclothing. "You may leave that inside."

"Thank you," she said, lowering the slip and burying it with the three dresses. She felt fresh hostility ebb from Loly as the she pushed the hem of the chemise deep inside the chest, the eyelet lace that bordered the slip fine and even at the edging, weighted with tiny rice-shaped pearls.

Loly's eyes narrowed on her, and Orihime tried to keep her attention from the armed girl, the pearls beneath her hands stuffed deep in the wicker chest.

In the lid was a small bundle of brocade material secured in a pair of cloth ties. With an inquiring look to Ulquiorra, who nodded, Orihime removed the bundle and unrolled it to reveal a comb and brush set wrapped with a small hand-held mirror. Orihime didn't look to Loly as the other girl caught her breath, her teeth clenching at the delicately detailed accessories.

"Take the chest into her room," Ulquiorra said to the crewmen, pointing to the small room near the staircase as Orihime repacked the items and laid them in the chest.

With a bit of grumbling Loly and Menoly took the chest into the storage room.

"I must say, better clothing than Captain Aizen should give you," Ulquiorra said to her, grinning slightly. "Unless marriage is what he has in mind for you." He glanced to Loly and Menoly as they returned. "You two are to stay with the maid until I return, and I want no problems," he said sharply to Loly as the girl sneered a smile. "Any complaints about either of you from Maid Inoue and you'll find yourselves in the forecastle with the rest of the crew."

Menoly and Loly only nodded.

Ulquiorra glimpsed Orihime up and down as she clasped her hands before her, unease still claiming her face. "You can remain in this room until I return. Mind you stay out of any cupboards and closets." He looked to the staircase as a bell rang out on deck, and then turned back to Loly. "Go down and tell the galley to send up two services for my dinner. You and Menoly will take yours in your room."

"Yes, Captain," Loly said tightly, leaving up the stairs.

Ulquiorra looked from Menoly to Orihime. "Behave yourself, maid."

She nodded. "Yes, Captain."

Ulquiorra took the stairs to the deck, the door to the companionway closing behind him.

Orihime looked to Menoly, her eyes dropping at the girl's stare, and then rising as she tried to steady her voice. "I'm sorry if your friend doesn't like my being here."

"Stay out of her way," Menoly warned, little emotion behind her tone. Her green eyes flicked over Orihime's brown dress. "You're not so special to look at."

Orihime's gaze fell to her hands, fingers fidgeting with each other. "I'm not special."

Menoly chuckled a little, tilting her head to one side as she looked at Orihime's plain sandals. "You're not worth a ransom, that I'll say. No one would ever pay to get you back."

Orihime looked to the staircase as Loly skipped down it, a glint coming to the girl's eyes as they went to Orihime. She glanced up the stair, listening for Ulquiorra's voice. She turned a narrow glower on Orihime.

"Lord Captain Aizen doesn't want to marry you," she nearly spat. "You're nothing but an ant to him. He'll tire of you."

"I don't know what Captain Aizen intends," Orihime said, turning as Loly circled around her, hand on the dagger at her belt.

"Nothing but a nursemaid, that's all you'll be," Loly said, leaning close to Orihime's ear as she passed. "Or a milk maid. That's what you'll be. A milk maid!"

Menoly rolled her eyes and sighed, looking around the room. A sudden lurch caught the ship as it turned sharply, and all three girls braced themselves before falling. Loly and Menoly rushed for the port side window and looked out.

Orihime didn't follow, instead going to the hearth, one hand on the mantle over it in case of another lurch.

"... I can't tell from here," Loly was saying, craning her neck out the window to see behind the _Midori_. "Maybe Captain Aizen is coming back. Maybe he's changed his mind." She turned to look at Orihime. "Maybe he's sending the excess cargo overboard."

"Loly! Menoly!" Yammy's voice boomed from above. "Up here! Now!"

Menoly and Loly clamored up the staircase without a word to Orihime. A moment later the hatch closed, and Orihime heard the click of a lock.

She looked around at the empty room, voices from the deck above shouting orders and instructions as the ship veered again, less sharply. Her hand grasped the mantle, mostly for support, but also for something tangible to help her make the change of events in her life more real.

_Too real_, she thought. She put a hand to her head, wiping back the hair that slipped form her barrette. She still knew little of her new life, and she was not anxious to discover what was next.

She went to the small room with her cot and stood on the mattress to see out the window. Through the bars she could see nothing but the horizon. She knew it was north. She watched a couple of gulls fly low over the dark blue waters for a moment, envying their freedom, until her eyes focused on a dot at the water line against the sky.

A ship. North of the _Midori_, sailing south, but not quickly enough to close the distance. She sighed. _Another pirate,_ she thought.

* * *

By the time dusk fell over the water Orihime was hungry. Ulquiorra had been absent from the cabin during the afternoon, but Wonderweiss had visited briefly to deliver a bowl of fish soup and small loaf of bread and bottle of weak wine. In that time Orihime had changed her clothes for the yellow dress, closing the door to her small room, but unable to lock it from inside.

"Come away from the window." Ulquiorra's voice startled her a few hours later as Orihime sat in the fading evening light at a table chair she'd turned to face out.

She nodded and quickly put the chair back in its place.

Wonderweiss set the desk with two plates and goblets and a bottle of wine and loaf of bread. Ulquiorra lit the glass-domed oil lamp at one end of the desk as Orihime looked on. He nodded Wonderweiss's dismissal and the boy left up the stairs.

Orihime stood center of the room as Ulquiorra pulled a chair from the hearth and set it before the desk.

"You were looking at that ship," he said, waving her over.

She nodded. "It's been there all day."

"It's most likely one of Captain Aizen's new recruits. Probably a ship Nnoitra captured while north." He stood at the back of the chair, waiting for her to sit down. "You aren't hungry?"

Orihime had been fighting with her twisting stomach all day, but the food on the plates smelled good. She nodded.

"Sit down."

She sat in the chair before him, her nerves on edge until he went around the desk and sat in the chair across from her. He turned up the wick on the lamp, watching the light cast an amber glow on her auburn hair. He pulled the cork on the bottle of wine between their plates and poured both clear glasses half full.

"Captain Jiruga is going south with the other two ships?" she ventured.

He nodded, breaking the bread in half and setting part of it on her plate edge. "He probably put a man in charge of a captured ship. You needn't know any more than that. You're privy to some of Captain Aizen's matters, but not at liberty to discuss them with him unless he permits you."

She nodded, taking a better look at her plate. It was white fish and what looked to be parsnips. She took the chopsticks and picked a bite of fish. "Is that what happened to the ship given to Captain Odelschwanck?"

"No." He took a bite of the fish, watching her as he chewed. "Captain Aizen has gathered a group of pirates from most of the prisons along the coast, even from the gallows itself. We're very indebted to him, some more than others." He took a drink of his wine. "To most he returned their previous ship, to others ships he's captured with Lieutenant Ichimaru and Tousen. We've all made agreements with him in return. Grimmjow's price was five ships and his assistance in claiming the King's treasure."

She swallowed the small bite of fish, the taste mild but pleasing. "You have a price?"

He nodded, eyes steady on her as she sipped her wine. "Ten ships."

As he said it he'd leaned over his plate, the collar of his shirt falling more open to expose a dark red mark just below and center of his collarbones. Orihime stifled her first remark at the scar, frowning as she studied it. She'd seen enough injuries with her grandmother to know what would cause such a discoloration. She came to the conclusion that somewhere along the line Captain Schiffer had been nearly impaled.

Her eyes left the scar as he looked to her. He topped off her wine glass with the bottle and then filled his own. "We all have our price, Orihime. You had yours."

She choked on her bite, swallowing and reaching for her goblet to wash the fish down with red wine. "I had no price, Captain."

He nodded, sitting back from the table and considering her as she coughed a little. "No, I suppose you were the price that was paid to leave Karakura untouched." He took his glass and spent a longer moment looking at her. "You're not a ransom attempt. Make no mistake that you're going back."

Her gaze dropped to her plate, the fish suddenly holding no appeal to her despite the low growl in her stomach. "I'm just a demonstration that Captain Aizen will keep his word?"

"Something like that."

She nodded slowly, chopsticks toying with a flake of fish.

"The _Twin Sisters_ was under Captain Halibel and her first mate Nel Odelschwanck when they were imprisoned in Cape North Stone. Captain Aizen approached them with conditions of obtaining their release and the ship returned," he said, steering the topic to one that he hoped would allow her appetite to return. A sickly captive would not please Aizen, and he had no desire to deliver Orihime in any condition that Aizen would not accept. "Halibel agreed, with the arrangement that Nel be given her own ship, which she was. She named it the _Little Sister_, and took on Captain Aizen's appointed first mate of Nnoitra Jiruga, who'd had his ship burned out from under him when he was captured a few months back."

She nodded, frowning as she clamped the chopsticks around a bite of fish. "The _Little Sister_?"

He watched her take the bite. "That's what she was when Captain Odelschwanck took her. She was sent off with her first mate Nnoitra to collect Officer Szayel from Upper White Vale where he was imprisoned for alchemy. No one knows what really happened there, but when the _Little Sister_ returned she was under Nnoitra Jiruga as captain, with Nel as first mate, and the ship was renamed the _Bleeding Sister_. Nel's not been the same, something idiot about her, but Jiruga insisted he'd take her on as first mate." A sparse look of discomfort came over his face as Orihime held his stare. "It didn't sit well with Captain Halibel, but she's not raised a sword against Nnoitra, so it must be moderately acceptable to her."

She forced herself to eat half the fish and most of the parsnips. As much as she didn't want to impair any of her senses, she let herself sparingly drink half the wine. Whether it was the alcohol or Ulquiorra's willingness to answer her questions, she wasn't sure, but she asked more.

"King Yamamoto will never relinquish the royal treasure just because a bunch of pirates are razing the coast," she said, waiting for his reprimand. None came. Instead he nodded, sitting back in the chair after he'd finished eating.

"Captain Aizen doesn't want the whole treasure. Only the fifth part." He lifted an eyebrow. "Do you know what that is?"

She shook her head, looking to the staircase as bells rang out along the deck above.

"Those are marking the hour," he said as she turned back to the table. "You'll get used to them."

She placed her chopsticks on the plate. Behind him the open window showed the dark skies on the waters, illuminated by faint starlight. "You must know King Yamamoto has sent pirate hunters after Captain Aizen and his ships."

"I know it."

She bit her lip, feeling her defenses emboldened by the wine. "The King won't sit by and allow his ports to be torched."

"He has, Orihime. Nothing has stopped us." He smiled a little, enjoying the simmer in her hazel-violet eyes at the topic. "Yes, a few of the other ships in Captain Aizen's employ have fallen, but not many, considering the damage we've done."

"And if the King won't forfeit the fifth part of his treasure?" Her voice trembled, making her realize she cared more than she wanted him to know. "You said Karakura is safe."

"It is, but I won't say the same for any other town." He stood up. "We'll move inward into Seireitei, taking towns until your King decides he'll cooperate." He shook his head. "As for these pirate hunters, they're a joke. The weaker ships have already fallen, but the captains left in Captain Aizen's front will destroy any opposition."

She looked to her plate, her hands still in her lap as she thought about his words.

"This Kurosaki boy, you former fiancé," he said, rounding the desk to her until she looked up, "he'll accept your release of the engagement?"

She nodded, voice softening at his name. "Yes."

"He's a fool."

Her eyes shot to his. "Ichigo is not a fool," she snapped, surprising herself. "He's a good person, and he fulfills his duty. His family is a good name."

He watched the sudden simmer in her eyes, the vibrancy making him curious. "You haven't spoken of his feelings for you," he said, leaning closer. "No broken heart? Not yours? Not his?"

She focused on his face near hers as the words pricked a tender spot, refusing to lean away, gaze rising from his lips to his eyes. While she may have agreed to give herself over to a man she didn't know, no one had access to all of her. "I don't see how that is any concern of Captain Aizen's. Or yours, Captain Schiffer."

His gaze narrowed as he straightened, one hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his side. "It was an arranged marriage?"

Now her attention did drop, her fingers twisting in her lap. "Yes."

He chuckled. "Then why such turmoil over signing away your arrangement when you wrote that letter? You can't deny you felt something. I saw it in your face, Orihime."

She nodded only briefly. "He's a good friend. My brother arranged the marriage before he died."

"You don't care for this boy?"

"We're friends," she said, looking to him with what was left of her resolve. "We're friends, whether married or not. Had we married other people we would still be friends."

"Well," he said, stepping back, "you'll certainly not be marrying Ichigo Kurosaki. That's not in your future. Not likely that you'll ever see him again, either."

A call came from above and Orihime kept her attention on her hands.

Ulquiorra nodded, watching her eyes flit to the side after a moment, but not look at him. "You may retire when you're finished eating. Wonderweiss will take your plate."

"Yes, Captain," she said lowly.

He went to the door at the back of the office and locked it, eyes still on the girl in the chair. "You'll be provided a washstand tomorrow."

She looked to him, her steely nerve flagging a notch.

He gave her the hint of a grin. "Don't act surprised, girl. We're pirates, not livestock."

Orihime didn't watch as he went up the staircase and to the deck above. She'd heard the door close and the click of the lock.

She sighed, her posture slipping just a bit in the chair. His attitudes confused her, at once playing host and then turning indifferent, wondering at her emotions and then mocking when she displayed any.

She made herself sit erect. _An amusement to him on an otherwise dull voyage,_ she thought. That was all.

He wasn't the one she need worry about in her future.

* * *

_The Pantera_ headed south under good winds to the collection of small ports along the Seireitei coast. They weren't large towns, but they were clustered at pivotal fishing points, the waters teeming with the best of seafood that would be sorely missed a day inland once the towns and fishing boats were destroyed.

That was where _The Pantera_, the _Twin Sisters_, and the _Bleeding Sister_ were to come in.

Grimmjow stood on the quarterdeck under the dark, star-laden heavens, his piercing glare out over the deep blue of the night waters. There was no sign of the _Bleeding Sister_, hadn't been since he'd departed Aizen's sight when Ulquiorra had taken the girl eastward.

He looked to the _Twin Sisters_ that had been aligned to his ship for two days now, her deck quiet, as he knew it usually was, with only an occasional female voice traveling across the waters. Halibel preferred it that way. The few raids they'd led together had been that way, all silent until the last moment, at which time the mostly female crew would put many pirate men to shame in their dedicated warfare.

Grimmjow had never underestimated Captain Halibel or her first mate-turned captain Nel Odelschwanck.

But Nnoitra had.

He'd won at it, eventually, but not without damage to himself.

Behind him the deck of _The Pantera_ grew louder and Grimmjow turned to see his own first mate settling a bet between two crewmen. Cat's hair was tied back into a bundle of dark stringy braids as most sea-faring men from the Shihōin Island wore it, his wiry build elbowing its way through the unruly argument that was brewing.

Grimmjow looked back out over the waters, pinpointing the small boat that was riding the swells of the otherwise mild sea. He recognized Halibel's silhouette, even in the near dark.

Five minutes later the rowboat was bumping _The Pantera's_ wooden hull as Cat lowered a rope ladder at the rail. Grimmjow waited at the quarterdeck, watching as Halibel made her entrance without meaning to.

He growled a curse at his men as a rise of chuckles went through the scores until Halibel turned a glowering stare on them. He couldn't blame them, not much. The blonde woman's figure had more than its share of curves, her voluminous breasts barely contained in her white blouse that was supported at the waist by a cinched tight black bodice over her loose navy pants that ended just above her boots. Her hair was kept in braids near her face, but otherwise down at her back.

She glanced to him, her no-nonsense expression as grim as ever. "Where's Nnoitra?" she called to him, crossing the deck as if she owned it. She glanced at his sails that were without flag or banner as she took the quarterdeck stairs to meet him. "This is supposed to be a three ship job, Grimmjow. Where's he off to?"

It got his attention. "Off to? What the hell are you talking about?"

Her voice lowered as she crossed the smaller raised deck, throwing a glance behind her as _The Pantera's_ crew tried to get a better look at the four women who had accompanied her. "Call off your dogs, Captain."

The men who'd circled around the four women, all of whom were well-armed, were making what most considered small talk.

"Leave them be," Grimmjow ordered to the deck in general. The men took a few steps away, a few remaining for a longer look at the women.

Grimmjow watched Halibel look out over the night waters. "Nnoitra's supposed to meet us at Blue Towers for the first raid. He should be north of us."

She shook her head, eyes resting on the bandage above his elbow. "I've been behind you for two days, and he's dropped back since meeting up with the _Five Mirrors_. Did Captain Aizen give him other instructions?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know. Last thing I heard was you, me, and that fool head for Blue Towers."

She put one hand on her hip, frowning. "The _Little Sister_ followed after the _Midori_."

Grimmjow frowned. "You know it's the _Bleeding Sister_, Tia."

Her fingers went to the dagger at her corset belt. "It'll always be the _Little Sister_, Grimmjow. I don't care what that bastard named it," she said in a cutting tone, fingers tightening on the bone handle of the knife. "Nel would never give that fool her ship. Something happened when they broke Szayel out of jail. I'll find out what as soon as we finish this raid."

He nodded, deciding not raise her ire in the matter. "When was the last time you saw Nnoitra?"

She shook her head. "Not since we intercepted your course_._ He fell back and followed the _Midori_." Her voice dropped. "You didn't know anything about it?"

He looked out over the northern water trailing the ship. A mirror-like ripple greeted him, reflecting the moon in swells as the vessel bounded south. "Ulquiorra's heading for Las Noches."

She raised an eyebrow, watching his study of the sea. "He's got the girl?"

He nodded, mind churning through several scenarios.

Halibel's attention went back to his bandaged arm. "Is she what Captain Aizen says she is?"

He spared her a sharp look and a laugh. "That and more." He didn't elaborate. The sewing beneath the bandage Orihime's soft touch had wound about his arm had healed in a day since he'd left her on the _Midori_. He kept the bandage on, almost expecting the dark thin line of scar to open up if left minus its wrapping.

But it hadn't. There was no pain, no bleeding, the strength in the limb returning within a day. Completely whole.

"Szayel wanted to accompany Ulquiorra, but Aizen denied him." His eyes moved over the water, seeing more than the sea allowed.

"Is Nnoitra escorting them?"

"Hell, no." He turned and glanced to the four women on the lower deck who were now talking with more ease to a few of his own men. His eyes flicked to Halibel. "Can you take Blue Tower on your own, without us?"

"Of course," she said with a short laugh.

"What about the next three in line for raid?"

Her eyes narrowed on him. "What have you got in mind, Grimmjow?"

His hand went to the sword at his scabbard, watching her green eyes follow the movement. "Can you take them, Tia?"

"This is supposed to be a three ship operation. You know that. Even missing that vile Nnoitra subtracts from the success --"

"If I leave you twenty men from my ship," he said tightly, the moments suddenly seeming more precious when he knew the _Midori_ was not alone under sail, "can you do it then?"

She nodded slowly. "But he's mine, Grimmjow. I know you've got your own noose around his neck, but I want Nel back, and then Nnoitra is mine." A pitiless smile twitched at her lips. "I'm going to finish cutting out his tongue. Understand?"

He grinned and nodded, waving a hand to the deck. "Pick your twenty, Captain."


	5. Chapter 5

Rukia stood in the shadows of the willows that fringed the gardens of the Kurosaki estate. It was a fragrant time of year, with billowing rhododendrons in full bloom that lined the stone walkways that cut through the lush grass. She liked the hanging branches of the willows, the way they draped around her, making her inconspicuous from afar.

She watched Ichigo and Isshin stand at the koi pond nearest the stables, bits of their conversation drifting to her. The pasture fences stretching far around the vast grounds contained some of the best horses on the continent, something her brother had said repeatedly. Her favorite horse was always whichever Ichigo allowed her to ride along with him.

"... inside a girl's mind, inside her heart," Isshin's voice drifted to her as he spoke to Ichigo across the pond. "More temperamental than the flightiest horse, son. Even the ones with the sweetest demeanor."

Ichigo shook his head, seeing Rukia skirt the trees beyond the yard where the half dozen sheep were eating the grass down to an acceptable height.

"Not Orihime. She's always been ..."

"Level-headed?" Isshin offered, smiling at Ichigo's frown.

Ichigo grumbled something, shaking his head.

Rukia smiled as she crossed the grounds to them, her steps quick, wishing as she always did that he was _her_ intended. He wasn't, she'd had to admit that to herself since Orihime's engagement to him before her brother's death. The papers were signed; it was a legitimate deal.

Rukia knew that she would marry well. The Kuchiki name was among the top noble houses in the kingdom. Her brother would make a suitable arrangement for her, and she knew he would consider her desires for a match. She was glad the Kuchiki estate abutted to the back of the Kurosaki grounds, but it was still miles away from Ichigo.

Too far, even with the amount of time she spent there.

Ichigo had come to terms with his marriage promise, too, and while he'd admitted to Rukia once that he could never tell her loved her, she knew he did. Out of respect to his future wife they'd kept quiet about a lot of issues.

But she knew that Orihime knew.

Isshin was shaking his head at Ichigo, who held a letter in his hands as Rukia met with them. They looked to her, their conversation halting. She curtsied her lavender dress, and Isshin nodded to her in return.

"We'll speak later about it," Isshin said with uncharacteristic somberness in the company of the girl. "Make no rash decisions, son. This is not a matter for you, and certainly not one King Yamamoto will take seriously."

"I take it seriously," Ichigo said with unusual contradiction to his father. "If he doesn't respond, I'm going."

Isshin's voice lowered as Rukia looked away, the topic of conversation seeming too heavy for her. She bowed without speaking and took a few steps to the pond, pretending to look for fish in it.

"You can't expect him to hand over a fifth part of the royal treasure to some bastard _heir_ to keep a few ports out of pirate hands," Isshin said, rolling a letter of his own he'd also received, this one addressed to him from Aizen. "There's no guarantee the raids will stop if King Yamamoto surrenders the treasure, and you have no proof Orihime didn't leave of her own will."

"She wouldn't," Ichigo said, eyes dropping to the letter in his hands he'd already read a dozen times. There was little in it, Orihime's brief farewell and release of their engagement in simple language. There was no mistaking the intention. "I want to hear it from her."

"Ichigo, let her go," his father said mildly, crossing his arms. "You don't know her mind. Maybe she wants this. She has no dowry to speak of except that flax field outside of town. You don't know what kind of offer this Aizen has made her. A proposal of marriage -- even from a rake such as this -- may be attractive to a girl who has no family or name." He cleared his throat as Ichigo scowled over the letter. "You don't know what's been going on with her, son. It's possible even a pirate can court a girl."

Ichigo shook his head. "But he uses her to show what a civil fellow he can be? I don't believe it."

Isshin sighed, glancing to where Rukia was focusing on not listening to them, eyes on the pond water. "Women and girls get used all the time, Ichigo. Every princess, every royal marriage -- all strategic. You know it. Perhaps he's giving her the chance at some happiness, _as well as_ furthering his own gain."

"You don't think she'd be happy married to me?" It sounded even worse aloud than in Ichigo's head.

Isshin saw Rukia flinch slightly at the query despite her attempts at not listening in. "I think she'd tell herself she was happy." He opened his letter again and looked to the carefully wording inked there. "_'In deference to the lovely young maiden Orihime Inoue who has agreed to accompany me, I find myself sparing the town of Karakura and may be persuaded to leave the coast of Seireitei without further harm if the fifth part of the royal treasure is delivered to me._'" He rolled the letter again, shaking his head. "Perhaps she's trading one arrangement for another, Ichigo. Sousuke Aizen does have something to offer, even as the illegitimate son of the king of Hueco Mundo. If he claims the throne from Barragan Luisenbarn, Orihime may do well, in her own right."

Ichigo shook his head, watching Rukia wait as patiently as she could. "Where would she have met someone like him? How could she not --"

"Son, she's a young lady," Isshin said with a long-suffering smile, "and they don't always make sense."

Ichigo nodded. "Her friend Tatsuki was attacked a few days ago and now Orihime is missing. I can't let it go without finding out more."

"Women get attacked, even in Karakura, and women elope all the time, in every town." Isshin sighed as Rukia gave them a curious glance. "Do you even know what the fifth part of the royal treasure is, Ichigo?"

The younger Kurosaki shook his head. It had been an odd demand from Aizen, but one that was becoming more known throughout the continent as the pirate raids continued. Isshin Kurosaki was more than a horse breeder and supplier to the king; he sat on the advisory council along with Rukia's brother Byakuya, head of the Kuchiki house. "Do you?"

Isshin nodded, eyes narrowing. "The forbidden secrets of alchemy, or so some say. That's one theory." He looked down at the rolled letter. "There must be some truth to it, if it's considered valuable, and worth negotiating for."

Ichigo looked at the letter he held, the words so casual he knew they couldn't be from Orihime. "I think she'd tell me if she was leaving."

"She is, son. That's what's in your hands now." Isshin shrugged. "Rukia's brother is in the parlor, and I'm not playing a good host by standing out here. I will speak to the council when next we meet, Ichigo, but my voice is not going to persuade the King to relinquish a treasure." He held up the rolled letter. "Neither is this."

Ichigo nodded, watching his father turn and walk away to the grand three story mansion beyond the gardens, his standard white and black robes billowing behind him in the soft breeze of the warm day. It was a long walk, one which Ichigo had run many times with Orihime when they were young, before the true meaning of an engagement had weighed on them. He looked to his side as Rukia met him.

"He sounded so grave," she said, violet eyes troubled as they looked to his face, trying to read his scowl. "Bad news?"

Ichigo wasn't sure. He looked to the letter that had been so mysteriously delivered by the heavily cloaked man and young woman that morning who'd introduced themselves merely as messengers from the _Ginger Wolf_.

"Orihime has broken her engagement to me."

Rukia's small hand clutched his navy tunic sleeve, a smile at the ready on her lips before she caught it. "Oh? She has? Oh." She looked to the letter in his hands. "You're certain?"

He nodded, watching the mix of emotions cross her face. "She's released me, and says I'm free to marry another." He frowned, taking her fingers from his arm as more of a smile came back to her lips. "I want to hear it from her, Rukia," he said, deciding to remain silent about the letter delivered to Isshin that same morning. "Then I'll believe it."

"Oh," she said quietly, her smile dimming. She nodded. "I see."

* * *

Orihime stood at the _Midori's_ rail, eyes scanning the deep blue waters of the sea, searching for the dot of a ship she'd been told was most likely the _Bleeding Sister_ that had trailed them from afar for several days. It wasn't in sight, not without a scope.

The wind tossed her auburn hair over her back, the white of the chemise slip peeking from beneath the skirt of the purple dress lifted by the breeze. Much as being aboard the ship frightened her, she had to admit she liked the newfound freedom the sea offered. She could see forever.

Below her the hull of the ship cut through the water, breaking white around the wooden vessel. Along the side arched dolphins, racing the ship in playful mode.

Orihime smiled at them, waving at one that chattered as it broke the surface. She'd been watching them for a while, the half filled sails overhead allowing the creatures to keep pace. They'd provided a fraction of fun to a tedious three days since the ship had split off from the _Five Mirrors_, and once during a lull in the evening winds that Ulquiorra had allowed her to remain on deck she'd seen another dolphin in a group of three return her wave, bobbing its beaked head in response.

She ignored most of the sounds of the crew behind her, bets and laughter at jokes she couldn't hear, but she looked to her side as Ulquiorra met her at the rail.

His eyes dropped to the dolphins, then went to her. "We'll be stopping at a small island in a few days to collect your medicinals before we head to Las Noches," he said. "Do you need assistance in it?"

She shook her head. "They should be easy to find."

He nodded and looked back out over the water, hands stuck in his pants pockets. "You've adapted well to ship life." He glanced to her as her hands went to the rail, fingers at home now on the wood. "You're not seasick."

"It's not so bad," she said. It wasn't, not really, her last few days falling into something of a routine. She'd learned the bells by hour of day, some aspects of the running of the ship. Most mornings she'd stay cabin-bound until the early afternoon, after which Ulquiorra allowed her deck side until the wind got too cool. "Thank you for not keeping me locked in that small room, Captain."

He nodded, watching the wind flip her hair across her shoulder, eyes resting on the white of the chemise collar where it met her skin. "Captain Aizen should have had a wrap sent for you."

She smiled a little. "I'm not cold. And you always have me go below before it gets too cold out."

He looked to Yammy at the fore of the ship. "Come below now, Maid Orihime. I'll show you where you'll be calling home."

The words startled her, making her steps uncertain on the staircase to the cabin below. She'd not thought as much about actually reaching Las Noches as she had the current voyage there. She heard the door open to the small cabin Loly and Menoly shared as she and Ulquiorra passed it in the companionway, a muted whisper from one of the girls.

Her mouth set as she followed Ulquiorra into the master cabin to the table against the wall under the open window. The chart was still spread out from the night before where he'd studied it in detail after their supper. She knew he had, because he'd left her room door open after the second night, allowing her to see out into the office as he usually sat at the desk at the other wall.

She stood at the table edge, eyes following his finger as he pointed to a small cluster of islands off the seaboard of what she knew to be the Seireitei coast.

"The Hueco Mundo archipelago," he said, finger tracing the half moon of small blue dots among the faded off-white background of the chart. "Las Noches is the most strategically placed of them. That's where you're going, where you'll stay until Captain Aizen decides to collect you."

She nodded, the words seeming to be meant for someone else, their impact was so foreign. "What are the rest of the islands? Are those his, too?"

A slight grin lent his face. "Not yet, maid, but soon. You see, Captain Aizen means to inherit the properties of Hueco Mundo. He's promised some of the islands he controls now to a few of the captains assisting him."

"You?" she asked, ready for his intolerance to the personal question.

He shook his head. "I'm not interested in governing an island."

Her eyes went back to the islands. "Is Captain Jaegerjaquez?"

Ulquiorra shook his head again, eyes staying on one of the islands not far from Las Noches. "No, I don't believe so." His finger rested on the blue island too small to name. "Captain Jiruga's island. I hear he's already begun work there. Rather egotistical of him." He tapped another island. "Reserved for Captain Starrk of the _Ginger Wolf_. I don't know how much help he'll be," he said, his tone hiding none of his misgivings. "He's too lazy to do much in the way of assistance. He's the one delivering your letter to the Kurosaki residence." He grinned a little as her eyes widened with interest. "He's given to procrastination, but I believe your letter should get there eventually. That's about all he's good for. Messenger."

Orihime's attention shifted from island to island as he pointed them out, but her mind had stayed on his previous words. She murmured something, frowning as his finger moved to a larger island where the words _Hueco Mundo_ were written over top it. "How does Captain Aizen mean to inherit Hueco Mundo? Is he the heir?"

The ship leaned starboard on the waters and he set one of the heavier, fist-sized blocks of snowflake obsidian on an edge of the chart as a lighter, smaller one slid off. "He should be, if you ask him, which I suggest you do not, maid." He observed her for a long moment as her eyes moved along the islands. "King Luisenbarn has no living heirs, and Captain Aizen is his only son, and illegitimate at that. He means to take the kingdom. He's studied several of the forbidden arts, and he's enlisted Officer Szayel's cooperation."

Her lips moved slightly as she repeated the name silently, mind wandering back over what she'd learned of the effeminate man the last time she'd seen him. "He was imprisoned ... for alchemy." Her eyes darted to his. "Is that it?"

Ulquiorra nodded, one hand going to the sword hilt at his hip. "If you believe in that sort of method."

She frowned, eyes dropping to the scar at his throat visible between the white collars of his shirt before she realized her stare. She looked back to the chart. "Do you believe in alchemy, Captain Schiffer?"

He shook his head, a movement she saw out of the corner of her eye. "Perhaps Captain Aizen and this surgeon can make it work, but I myself do not believe in it. A fancy transfer of materials into other materials? I'd have to see it to believe it, Orihime."

She bit her lower lip at his description of the craft, a movement he watched carefully as her teeth pulled at the pink skin of the lip.

"You may call me Captain Ulquiorra," he allowed.

The lip fell from the edge of her teeth as she glanced to him. "Captain Ulquiorra."

He nodded. "That's better."

Her eyes went back to the chart, skipping from island to island in the cluster that made up Hueco Mundo. "This Captain Starrk, was he a pirate, too?"

"_Is_ a pirate," he corrected. "Still is." He looked to Wonderweiss as he nearly tripped down the staircase to stand at the bottom of it. "Yes, two for supper here," he said before the boy could blubber out a query.

"Yes, Captain." Wonderweiss stumbled back up the stair.

"Captain Aizen broke Captain Jaegerjaquez out of prison for horse stealing," she mussed aloud. "And Captain --"

"Grimmjow was serving a sentence for three, Orihime," he corrected, placing one hand on the chart as a block of obsidian slipped off the edge as the ship made a dip among the waves. "He was unfortunate to get the brunt of your King's Day of Mercy. It was his duty to take the time for charges of not only horse theft from the Kurosaki stables, but for two other crimes."

Orihime frowned more intently, unconscious that her fingers had rested on a smaller block of obsidian on the table. She knew what the Day of Mercy entailed. In a kingdom-wide attempt at goodwill, three criminals were set before the public at every jail in the country, where a general vote would be put out to allow two jailed men to be freed while the third was to serve all three sentences. It was usually the more petty crimes and criminals that were considered, some even bought as favors among the wealthy and noble families.

She didn't believe Isshin Kurosaki would curry such a favor against Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez for his crime of stealing horses, but she knew few details of the incident. "He was found with five of the twenty-five horses he stole from the Kurosaki estate," she said pointedly, feeling liable to defend her former intended's interest. "That's reason enough to keep his sentence in force."

"That's not how Grimmjow tells the story," Ulquiorra said, chuckling a little. He glanced to the stair as Wonderweiss's cautious steps as he balanced a tray announced dinner. "That's not how Nnoitra tells the story, either, Maid Inoue."

Orihime stifled her curiosity. "Perhaps they're both lying."

He waved in Wonderweiss, and then nodded to Orihime. "Or perhaps one of them is telling the truth."

* * *

**Authors' Note:** _Sorry about the info dump, but now that it's out of the way, on to better fun. Thanks for reading._


	6. Chapter 6

Thoughts of the letter and Orihime's broken engagement to him soured on Ichigo over the next few days. It wasn't that he couldn't believe she'd break the arrangement; she'd made a few references to knowing about his feelings for Rukia over the past year. She hadn't exactly said it, not in so many words, but he could see it in her face when she caught him looking at Rukia.

He stuffed another change of clothing in the leather bag in his bed chamber, thoughts milling over his impending departure. His father had been against it, but after a day of low-key arguing, Isshin Kurosaki agreed that -- for Ichigo's peace of mid -- perhaps a trip to Karakura, or maybe beyond, would find him some answers.

That was how it was supposed to go, but after speaking with the blacksmith's apprentice who had shoed a dozen horses the day before, Ichigo was more determined than ever to hear Orihime say the words herself. Chad wasn't the only friend of hers that was worried over her sudden decision and departure. Tatsuki had been nearly sick over her disappearance, fearing the worst after her own attack.

She'd only felt a little better after word got back to town about Ichigo's letter, and had been pacified further by her mother. That hadn't worked for the cooper's son. Ichigo hoped he wouldn't have to see him in town, but he also knew the chances were slim. Ryuuken Ishida was all but banished from Karakura, his name not accepted in many towns, and most of the public appearances such as selling and delivering was left to his son.

Rukia was at his side as soon as Ichigo left his bedroom chambers that morning, her small form dissolving from the tapestry hung by the archway veranda that overlooked the north gardens.

"You're not supposed to be in this wing of the house," he said, looking down the hall to where he knew her brother and his father were meeting in a study. "Byakuya would kill me if he knew you were loitering outside by bedroom."

She shrugged, letting him pull her by the hand down the hall to the wide curving staircase. "I don't want you to go, Ichigo."

"It's just a little while. A week, maybe two."

"What if it's not?"

Her steps trailed his on the alabaster steps, her fingers pulling at his sleeve as the sounds of his younger sisters arguing from below rang off the mammoth walls. He hurried Rukia along.

"It won't take --" He didn't finish, reading the look in her eyes, knowing he couldn't promise any definite timeframe. "I need to know, Rukia."

"If she's with that pirate Aizen, you'll have to go to sea," she said, her voice dropping. "How can you expect to find him if King Yamamoto's best ships can't?"

"Some of them found him and his crews," he said, not adding that most of those ships had suffered massive if not fatal damages. "I've got enough money to hire out one ship. One non-military ship would have a better chance at getting close to him."

"All this for her answer? It's a long way to go when she means ... means less than a wife to you," she murmured, frowning slightly. "You said yourself she doesn't really want to marry you."

"She's my friend, Rukia," he said gently, smiling slightly. "A good friend."

"Do you want her back?" There was more behind the words than Rukia wanted him to see and the hurt shone through in her eyes.

He wasn't sure how to answer, watching the doubt flit through her face. "I need to know if she wanted to leave. If she did, of her own freewill, then okay. I can't move on without hearing it from her." His voice dropped. "I need to know that. If it was anyone else -- if it was the cooper's son, I'd believe it -- but not this damn pirate."

She sighed, letting him pull her farther down the staircase. "Will you accept her decision, Ichigo?" Her voice was softer than usual and his steps slowed, hand tugging her closer until she'd caught up next to him.

"Yes," he said, the timidity in her violet eyes making him want more than ever to kiss her. He'd never let himself, but at the moment he wanted to grab her up off the steps and tell her he'd marry her in a heartbeat -- after a long engagement that her brother would probably insist upon -- if Orihime was truly serious about breaking her pledge. He didn't, but planted a slow kiss on the top of her dark hair, fingers tightening on her clutch at his arm. "But not until I hear it from her."

"I don't want to be a widow before I'm even married." She looked up at his face as he eased back from her, her cheeks flushing pink. "I hope you get your answer."

He nodded.

* * *

Chad accompanied Ichigo into town an hour away, and for once, was full of words. Usually Ichigo's large friend had little to say, but this time, he almost wished the guy would remain his general quiet self.

" ... not like her, nor Tatsuki," Chad said, flicking a horsefly away from his ear as they entered the town's thoroughfare. "Her mother forbids her to leave the house, afraid she'd try to go out looking for Orihime. Hardly lets anyone visit."

"I'm not here to see Tatsuki." Ichigo nudged his bay gelding into a faster walk as they passed the first of many stands set up along the hot, packed clay street where the crowds were abuzz with the mid morning selling. The market sprang up quickly, vendors hollering wares, the smells of vegetables and fruit too ripe already scenting the muggy air.

"She'd like to see you."

Ichigo shrugged. "I'll go see Tatsuki once I can tell her I've spoken with Orihime. That'd be better."

Chad grunted in reply, eyes straying to where an older woman's screechy voice was advertising beaten brass pots and pans. "Uryuu wants to know what's going on. You know he's always had a soft spot for Orihime. Really broke him up when you two got engaged, Ichigo."

The orange-haired guy nodded, frown increasing at the thought of the cooper's son who lived just outside of town. "Did you tell him anything?"

"Just what little I know." Chad kicked the large dun horse's sides to bring it alongside the gelding. "I want to go with you, if you go to sea."

Ichigo nearly pulled his horse to a stop, frowning at his friend. "You can't leave your position, Chad. You'll lose --"

"I already talked to the smithy," Chad said quietly as they steered the horses away from two women that approached them, rugs slung over their arms, their sales chatter rapidly spewing. "I haven't missed a day in two years. Your family's stables are most of our business anyway, and we've just tended every horse old enough to ride. The smithy does all the leather and harness work."

Ichigo scowled. "I really don't know how long I'll be gone, Chad."

"How long did you tell Miss Kuchiki?"

Ichigo grimaced, throwing his friend a sharp look.

They wove their way deeper into town and down the side streets to where Orihime had lived, the shadier alleys cooler in the bright sun overhead. It was the same story Ichigo already knew when they questioned Orihime's landlord moments later. They learned nothing new, and Ichigo nodded and he and Chad left for the weaver's shop where Orihime had worked.

But there was no more information to be had. The girl hadn't showed up for work, left no message with any of the other girls that wove. Nothing.

He and Chad moved on, Ichigo's mind turning to thoughts of his next destination. The nearest port was four hours away, and most likely the departure point for whomever had escorted his former fiancée away.

They bought bread and a roll of sausage for the trip and had barely left town when a voice hailed them where the trade road opened to the east.

Ichigo knew who it was even before he reined in the gelding. He didn't want to turn around, not really. The Ishida name had fallen from the King's grace and never recovered from what many had seen as a failed coup against the throne. It was that doubt that had kept Ryuuken Ishida from being executed with the rest of the Quincy clan. Instead he'd been set free, the thumb of his right hand cut off so he could never draw a bowstring again.

He hadn't, either, and never bothered to learn with his left hand. It had ended Ryuuken's trade as an arrow maker and archer.

So when Ichigo turned to see Uryuu Ishida behind them on the road out of Karakura astride a gray horse, it wasn't with the most friendly of glances, not when Uryuu was of the mind that Ichigo stood between him and Orihime Inoue.

"If you're going to find her, I'm coming with you," Uryuu said, his tone void of query. He looked to Chad, their communal comrade and occasional coworker during the grape harvesting seasons. "That's where you're going, isn't it, Ichigo?"

He didn't want the son of the semi-banished barrel-maker's company, but Ichigo shrugged. "I suppose you've heard the story by now."

"I heard she dropped your engagement for that pirate Aizen," Uryuu nearly spat. "Not much of a trade down, but I can't believe she'd --"

"Hey, I didn't arrange the marriage," Ichigo bit back as Uryuu urged his horse to catch up with them. "It doesn't sound like something she'd do, but if that's what she really wants, then she can go."

Uryuu looked from Ichigo to Chad, his studious gaze a cross between resentment and disbelief. "It doesn't sound like something she'd do, to me, either. She's one of the few decent people in town." He stopped himself from elaborating further. "Are you setting sail?"

It was a clearer plan than Ichigo had let himself think, but he knew it was what really had been in the back of his mind, even as he tried to talk himself out of saying it to Rukia. "Yeah, if it comes to that."

Uryuu let his horse crowd the bay gelding, eyes narrowing on the wealthy heir who watched him cautiously. "That's where pirates stay, Kurosaki. Let's go."

* * *

Orihime hadn't slept well the last two nights. It wasn't the open door of her small room that led to the office of the _Midori_ adding less privacy, or even that she had twice saw Ulquiorra Schiffer looking at her from the doorway to his own bed chamber one night, his expression lost in the cloudy moonlight. He hadn't spoke, or moved, and she closed her eyes, hoping he hadn't known she was awake. When she'd opened her eyes halfway again, he was gone. Both times.

It wasn't those dreamlike moments that had made her lose sleep. It was something much closer.

The voices had always started low, just above a whisper, creeping across the floor of the small room, emanating from the door nailed shut at the companionway side of the room.

Orihime knew who they were, even if she couldn't discern Loly's from Menoly's tones on the other side of the door. She wasn't even sure what they said, but the low whispered sound of her name over and over followed by the amused giggling wore on her. The first night it had been intermittent, lasting for maybe half an hour at a time over several hours.

But the last night had been worse, an incessant hissing of her name that grew raspier as the hours passed. It should have been merely annoying, but after nearly a forlorn week on the ship, Orihime found it unnerving.

She now stood at the _Midori's_ rail on deck in the heat of the day, looking out over the waters that had taken on a lighter blue color as the ship neared the first of the many small islands clustered on the back side of the island of Las Noches. It was a pretty spot of land, palm trees arching over the white sands, the darker greens of inner foliage in view behind the leaning trunks.

She looked to her side as Ulquiorra joined her at the rail. She glanced up at him, her gaze shifting behind him to where she knew Loly and Menoly had mingled with the rest of the crew, their attention covertly on her all afternoon.

"You're not resting well," he said, eyes remaining on the island steadily nearing under half sail power. He looked to her. "Captain Aizen expects you at full capabilities when you get to Las Noches."

She nodded, a sigh escaping her as she followed his gaze. "I will be, Captain."

"Crewmen Loly and Menoly will accompany you for your medicinals," he said. "Give them instructions for any plants you seek. They can take direction."

She looked to the two female crewmen, frowning at the sneer Loly sent her. Orihime nodded, eyes returning to the waters, but this time her attention going to the dot of a ship moving around the other side of the island. "Why is that ship here? Is it --"

"That ship is no concern of yours, Maid," he said, a slight sharpness to his tone that made her quiet immediately. "Captain Aizen may have changed Jiruga's plans or Jiruga may have taken a fancy to a ship he's captured and is sending the _Bleeding Sister_ to be dry docked for repairs on his island. Either way, it's not your worry."

She nodded, eyes still following the small form of the ship as it slipped out of sight around the island. "Yes, Captain."

They looked to where six of the crew was tugging at ropes to let down a longboat over the side of the ship, a chorus of cursing going up as a rope slid through a few hands too quickly.

"Flock of fools," Ulquiorra muttered below his breath. He looked back to Orihime, eyes flicking over her pale yellow dress where the sleeves ended just above the chemise at her wrists. "I suggest you do not make eye contact with any of the oarsmen on our way to the island. Men at sea aren't the most delicate in their attentions." He grinned slightly as her face registered alarm, her arms crossing before her. "Pirates even less so."

She nodded, refraining from looking at any of the crewmen who were turning from their work at lowering the longboat.

Ulquiorra took her elbow and turned her to the staircase near the quarterdeck. "Get ready. We're leaving now."

The island was abundant in vegetation, thickest beyond the white sands that the longboat beached on, the crew of eight oarsmen and four passengers being deposited at the narrow strip of beach.

Orihime was only too glad to be one of them, her feet hungry for the firm ground, eyes eager for something besides endless blue water after nearly a week under sail. She gave the _Midori_ anchored in the large inlet that sank against the island's shore a brief look, and then followed after Ulquiorra to the abrupt woods of full, tall ferns and birch-like trees.

She knew Loly and Menoly were behind her, could hear one's muted, barely audible snickering. She guessed it was Loly. Menoly was the quieter of the two, less prone to _accidentally_ elbow or slap Orihime's back with a rope as she lashed anything on deck when the girls worked one of the many lines over the last few days.

Ulquiorra never saw it, and Orihime never told him, but she tried to keep the two female crewmen in sight when she could. He led them under the canopy of trees where the insects were buzzing loud, a few birds crying their arrival. He looked around at the giant ferns sprinkled with other fragrant flowers in colorful bloom and then to the basket in Orihime's arm.

"Get what you need here first. Tomorrow we'll go to the other side of the island, and then on to any other isles you need," he said, eyes going from her to Loly and Menoly. "You're to assist Maid Inoue without trouble, do you understand, crewmen?"

Menoly nodded immediately. "Yes, Captain. No problems."

Loly nodded, eyes unblinking.

Orihime looked from them to Ulquiorra. "Captain Schiffer, I can do this myself. They needn't trouble themselves with me. I'm able --"

"We'll help you," Menoly said as Loly suddenly pulled the basket from Orihime's arm. "It's no trouble."

"Just tell us what to look for," Loly added, her tone as civil as she could manage.

Ulquiorra glanced between the girls. "Stay within sight of the beach, Loly, Menoly. I'll be checking on you momentarily."

"We'll be close, Captain," Loly said, her smile twisting at one corner of her mouth.

He nodded to Orihime. "We're replenishing a few barrels of fresh water. Stay together, and stay close."

"Yes, Captain," she said, looking back to the two girls as he left.

Loly wrapped both arms under the basket's handle. "I suppose I should apologize," she said.

Orihime frowned at her, taking a sudden step forward as Menoly pushed her back from behind. "Oh, I don't think --"

"What do you want us to look for?" Loly set off at a walk in front of her, the basket now in one hand as she swung it at her side. "We're supposed to help you."

"Well, a shadier spot would more likely have what I need," Orihime said, stalling at voicing what she really wanted to find. She actually needed nothing, no medicinal plants, but she'd been taught by her grandmother that harvesting some sort of commonly used remedial plants would be expected. She sighed, keeping a step ahead of Menoly. "Pink woodruff should be easy to find here."

"Hmm, pink?" Loly giggled, an unpleasant sound that made a few of the birds in the trees overhead fly off.

Orihime looked up at the scattering birds and then back to the shore. Four men were unloading the water barrels from the longboat, Ulquiorra watching them. "We're not supposed to go too far from the boat," she said, flinching as Menoly's hand pushed her shoulder again. Ahead of her Loly picked up the pace. "Captain Schiffer said to stay in sight."

"We can see him," Loly said, and then broke into a trot. "Oh, I see pink ahead. Come on!"

Orihime found herself propelled by another shove from Menoly, this time the girl's hand making a fist of the yellow dress at her shoulder.

"Don't fall," Menoly said briskly, pushing harder.

Orihime kept on her feet, but barely, as they wove deeper into the thick shrubs and trees. Swags of fern and palm boughs slapped back at her as Loly passed them, the crewman's hand dragging to one side of her as she led. The sun overhead cast confusing bright spots in the shadows, ribbons of blinding rays among the hazy afternoon foliage.

"A little further," Loly said, increasing her gait again.

"Wait --" Orihime hadn't the chance to finish even the single word when a hand clamped over her mouth from behind. She heard Menoly emit a startled gasp and saw Loly jolt to a stop. Orihime's hands clawed at the hand at her mouth as a long arm snaked around her waist, an unwashed stench wafting through the muggy air.

"Now let's see what we've got here, shall we?" a lisping voice said, a chuckle following.

Orihime tried to scream, but the fingers pressed harder against her mouth, the arm tightening at her waist, nearly bringing her off her feet. In front of her Loly had stopped and turned around. She looked far up at the tall man behind Orihime, cackling a laugh as she tossed the basket into a patch of spiky ferns near a boulder.

"Shut up, Loly," Menoly shushed at Loly, crossing into Orihime's sight from her side.

Nnoitra looked around at Orihime's terrified face in front on him, bringing another muffled outcry from her as she squirmed in his hold.

The leering face was bent to see her, the skin jaundiced pale with narrow eyes as he laughed. "Well, you are a little spitfire, eh? Pretty thing, too, like Szayel said." He looked to Loly and Menoly. "Run along all obedient like. Give us some time and tell Cap'n Ulquiorra his little pet's missing. After some time, eh?"

Loly laughed lowly, nodding, her belittling glare on Orihime's wide eyes. Menoly grabbed her arm and half dragged her away deeper into the woods. "Come on. We're done here."

The two disappeared into the heavy greenery, their footsteps quickening.

Orihime looked to her side as Nnoitra's face lowered to hers again, his grin full of half-rotted teeth, smelling of decay. Her fingernails dug into his hand and arm around her, but he only chuckled.

"Let's you and me get along now," he said, the notch cut out of his tongue making his words lethargic.

Orihime shook her head. She could see his tongue when he laughed, his mouth gaping open.

He nodded. "We've got some time to kill."


	7. Chapter 7

An hour and a half later of being wrangled through the dense underbrush and trees of the isle's interior under Nnoitra's hard grip on her shoulder Orihime found herself at the sandy shore of a small eastern inlet to the sea. Beyond the cove were other islands in the stretching channels of water that marked the beginning of the Hueco Mundo archipelago. Nnoitra halted them, his hand clutching vice-like as she tried to catch her breath from the quick pace he'd set since Loly and Menoly had left their company.

Abandoned her to her latest danger, Orihime knew.

She'd gotten a better look at her new captor in the rushed trip through the heavy vegetation. He was unlike any of the other pirates she'd seen, his untucked white shirt hanging tattered and loose over his black pants, the drawstrings at his collar open to expose a bony chest, his long fingers seeming more skeletal than actually human.

He had a scar lacing his face, diagonally crossing over one eye, but the eye itself undamaged. And then there was the smile, a lurking, cutting sneer that made her feel violated without the actual physical contact.

The brightness of the sunny beach left Orihime blinking after the canopy of trees, but her gaze fastened on the longboat pulled onto the sand, accompanied by six men as shabbily dressed as her captor.

"There she is, pet," Nnoitra said, grinning at her with a flourish to the ship that was anchored surprisingly close to the shoreline. "New home for a while, 'til we get to my personal spot o'land. Then we'll get you all set-in 'til Szayel can fetch you." He pushed her into motion. "Let's go."

Orihime stumbled in front of him to the boat, her fears rising as she got a closer look at the men there. They were more haggard looking than the pirates from any ship she'd yet seen, each seeming to be missing something, mostly parts of ears or fingers.

They gave her a collective chuckle as Nnoitra dragged her into the boat and shoved her to the second to the last bench seat.

"Shove off," he snapped at the men as they strained to push the boat farther into the cove's waters. He dropped down on the seat in front of Orihime to face her, grinning a lopsided smirk that showed his stained teeth.

She crossed her arms before her as a trembling took hold of her spine, glancing to the men that grunted and cursed as the small boat was pushed into the water. They clamored in as soon as the bottom left the sandy cove floor, sitting in the remaining seats behind Nnoitra with their backs to him. They pulled at the oars and propelled the boat to the waiting ship.

Nnoitra nodded at the new pale her face was taking. "Don't fool yourself into thinking Cap'n Ulquiorra will get you any time soon, pet. He's deeper than us, can't make the shoals like the _Bleeding Sister_ can. She's one of the lightest ships on the coast. Not the best at maneuverability, but we can take the turns at a slow sail. Makes her bob like a cork in a storm, but she's fitting to ..."

He broke off speaking, most of what he'd said lost on Orihime as she tried to determine what he meant. His eyes narrowed on the ship behind her that the boat was fast approaching.

"Why're we so low in the water?" he demanded, eyes still on the ship as he broke off touting the vessel's advantages to riding high in the water. "Someone tell me _that_!"

"Repair in the lower forecastle's leaking," one of the men returned, pulling at the long oars as he spoke.

"How bad?"

Orihime turned to see the _Bleeding Sister_, urgency at a leaking ship surpassing the foul smelling man in front of her. The ship was well out of the water, not what she expected, half thinking she'd witness a shipwreck. The ship was taller than the _Midori_, with the master cabin topside of the decks in the aft, rising over the rear by a full deck. She didn't know anything about ships, but it appeared to her that the ship was safely riding above the water.

"...then add four more and get us bailed," Nnoitra was muttering to anyone who would listen, smile now crooked into a frown as they met the ship ten minutes later. "We need every bit of buoyancy if we're going to skim the shoals."

Orihime hugged her arms tighter over her chest as his attention leered on her again, his smirk returning.

The _Bleeding Sister_ was accessed by a rope ladder hanging from the side. Orihime climbed this quickly, as Nnoitra was behind her, hurrying her progress with a cold hand that slipped up her calf whenever she came within reach. She frantically scaled the ladder, her hands and feet scrambling awkwardly in her desperation to outdistance him and the laughing men below her who were glimpsing her skirts.

She found herself on the main deck where two score of ragged men were watching her entrance. She barely stepped onto the deck than a slender man with an attempt at better kept attire met not her but Nnoitra with a grin.

"Captain, we're buckling her down now," Tesla said, predicting Nnoitra's first query. "We're heavy, but the water's contained, and --"

"We need to be _light_," Nnoitra said, his hand taking Orihime's arm. "Officer Tesla, we've got a new face here, and I'd like some time alone. You see to it we're not disturbed."

Orihime looked to him as her hopes dropped, oblivious to the men who boarded the ship behind her and another set of crewmen heaving the longboat out of the water with ropes.

"Uh, about that, Captain," Tesla said, giving Orihime a frown, "your cabin's occupied at the moment. She's locked herself in."

Nnoitra growled something, his voice turning whiny. "What's the problem now?"

Tesla sighed. "She's angry that you're sinking her ship."

"Damn it all to hell, it's only her ship when I'm not on it," Nnoitra grumbled, pushing Orihime before him to the cabin at the rear of the ship. "Tesla, find a dry cell for our pet."

"Yes, Captain."

"And get us under way. Gotta keep ahead of the _Midori_ 'til she gets run aground."

"Yes, Captain."

Orihime kept on her feet as Nnoitra shoved her before him across the deck as Tesla called out orders, sending men into action around the rails. It was a fancier ship than the _Midori_ had been, its former master a wealthy merchant who had fallen prey to the team of Halibel and Nel a few years prior. Nnoitra pounded on the cabin's thick door that had once been trimmed in gilt.

"Nel! Open up!" he called, gripping Orihime's arm tighter as she tried to flinch from him. "Hold on, pet. Your turn in a minute." He grinned and looked back to the door, twisting the locked latch. "Nel!"

"I'm not coming out until you put us up on the water!" a woman's girlish voice cried back. "You promised we weren't going down!"

Nnoitra mumbled something under his breath, giving Orihime a sly wink. "We're not going down, Nel, just a bit of water. Now open up. Be good and I'll tell you a surprise."

"No!"

Tesla joined them, looking from Orihime with indifference to his captain. "Boatswain wants to know if you want to lighten us, Captain. It'll compensate for the leak until we can bail the bilge above the damage."

Nnoitra nodded, pushing Orihime to the crewman. "Get her secured in the hold and get everything overboard we can manage, and I mean every damn thing. We get sanded and get caught with her onboard, we shoulda stayed in prison. Aizen ain't going to like it one bit." He pounded on the door, eyes still on Orihime. "Open up, Nel!"

Orihime was hurried to the stair to the hatch, Tesla's hand tight on her arm as she nearly tripped into the darkened stairwell. Her eyes had no time to adapt to the stuffy underbelly of the ship two staircases down, the only light coming from a lone hurricane lantern that swung from a ceiling beam at the juncture of the floors.

He pushed her ahead of him along the aisle way that opened between two rows of jail type cells lined with heavy metal bars. Far above her Orihime heard Nel's voice, this time hollering something about clothes and promises. It was joined shortly by the squealing of pigs.

Tesla stopped at the cell farthest from the stairs where another lantern hung, illuminating the small cells empty of anything but coir and a bucket each. He pushed her in and slammed the barred door. He pulled a thick chain through the door and cell wall bars and locked it with a ring of a dozen keys.

Orihime stood in the center of the small cell, the voices of Nnoitra and Nel in argument combining with calls from the men bailing farther into the ship, and the shrill crying of pigs.

"Where are we going?" she timidly asked Tesla as he turned to go back down the aisle.

"Captain will tell you if he wants you to know," he said, giving her a final glimpse as he stepped away from the cell.

She went to the bars and watched him leave, his form disappearing into the dark before she knew he could be out of sight. She sighed a trembling breath, half of relief not to be in the cabin above and half that being alone was much preferred to being in Captain Jiruga's company.

She knew it was him, everything added up to it. Ulquiorra's description of him and the unclear events surrounding the _Bleeding Sister_ and Grimmjow came to her mind, setting aside the stench of her captor's nearness and rabid smile. She shuddered and crossed her arms over her chest, fingers tightening on her sleeves. So Loly and Menoly had sold her out to Nnoitra, who, it seemed, had made some sort of arrangement with Szayel.

She sunk to her knees in the brown coir tangles, tears threatening to fall as she thought back over the few days she'd been at sea. Now she was truly lost. At least Captain Schiffer was supposed to keep her, she thought with little consolation. But this pirate, this Nnoitra, was not in Aizen's plans for her. Most of what he'd told her passed her understanding of ships, but a leaking ship was a leaking ship, and if she understood him correctly, the _Midori_ would be unable to follow.

She sniffed as the lantern swung overhead in the gentle waves that surrounded the _Bleeding Sister_. "Oh, Tatsuki," she breathed, choking back her sobs, "I miss you. I hope you're all right." She pushed her hair back from her face, her tears nearly ready to fall as she restrained them. "Please be all right."

"No sense in trying to pray down here, pet," Nnoitra's voice grated against her ears as he came from the darkened aisle. "No one to hear you."

She stood and backed away as he approached, the ring of keys jangling in his hands. He grinned maniacally at her, the skin around his scarred eye not quite wrinkling in the right spots at the movement.

He looked her over better in the muted light as his fingers groped the keys, gaze resting on the fullness beneath her crossed arms at her chest. He fit one key after another into the lock. "We're bailing, and lifting her out of the water. No reason to be putting off our fun." He mumbled a curse and tried another key, the lock eluding his attempt at unlocking it. "We've got a night before we get to my spot o'home, so we'll get acquainted now."

She shook her head, pressing her back to the hull at the far end of the cell. "Captain Schiffer will follow you, Captain Jiruga."

"No doubt he will, no doubt he'll get sanded," he muttered, flicking through the keys and trying another in the lock. "You better keep quiet about your time with me, you understand that good enough?" He chuckled, sorting through the keys for another to try.

Orihime watched him insert another key in the lock, her heart threatening to stop if he found the right one. When he looked to her she could only manage a small nod.

"Thought so. You keep very quiet about Szayel's time with you, too." His tone took on a more serious nature despite the lazy lisp. "He's got ways of making you not talk for good, or make you stupid like Nel. Dammit," he growled, beginning again with the set of keys. "As for our time, you better act like you're a virgin again when Aizen gets around to you. Suppose we could blame any discrepancies on captain of the _Midori_." He grinned, giving her a wink that made Orihime want to scream. "He get with you? Ever try to? Naw, he'd not make a good whipping boy. Not like Jaegerjaquez." He laughed. "Now _that_ turned out okay, you know?"

He'd been through the keys three times, each clink of the lock and chain making Orihime hold her breath until her chest ached.

"Dammit. Nel!"

She crossed her arms tighter over her chest, praying against hope that the keys wouldn't fit. He looked from her down the dimly lit aisle.

"Nel! Dammit, girl, to hell with your games!" Nnoitra turned a grin back on Orihime. "I'll be back later."

She exhaled a shaky breath as he left down the cells, bellowing for Nel.

Orihime sniffed back a sob, a shaking taking hold of her legs until she could barely stand. She leaned fully against the wooden hull, sealing her tears back into herself.

"Don't cry," a woman's voice said from a darkened corner beyond the first cells.

Orihime looked there quickly, afraid to move from the back of her barred room. She watched the inky darkness where the voice had come from, seeing no one. After a moment she wondered if she'd imagined the voice.

"He's gone."

She watched as a well-developed woman stepped from the shadows, her green hair in strands of knots around her smiling face, the rest falling long in waves on her back. Her seafoam green tunic topped a pair of black pants, belted at her shapely waist by a red sash, but her feet were bare, an anklet of small seashells around one.

"Hi." She smiled a childish smile at Orihime, looking furtively back to the staircase where Nnoitra had disappeared. "He can't get to you," she said, reaching the door to Orihime's cell. She held up a key on a leather cord, giggling. "I'm Nel. What's your name?"

Orihime found her voice, stunned at the woman who appeared older than her but somehow childish at the same time. "Orihime."

Nel smiled, rolling her eyes. "I'm not stupid, but he tells me I am." She wiggled the key. "I can't let you out, O-ri-hi-me," she said deliberately. "But he can't get in."

* * *

Grimmjow didn't have to near the _Midori_ when it was spotted at the outlying isle of the cluster of islands marking Hueco Mundo to know something was amiss. He could hear the calling almost as soon as the ship came into sight.

Cat stood at the rail at mid ship with him, both watching through scopes at the flurry of activity surrounding the water of the ship. Two boats were beached and another in the water. Crewmen swarmed the beach, among them Ulquiorra in an unmistakably desperate and cautionary mode. Grimmjow watched the fellow captain's movements, seeing what he could only perceive as a man who was doing more than escorting a girl in search of medicinal herbs. It appeared to him that Ulquiorra was conducting a search for something else. Or someone.

He trained the glass along the waters of the inlet and then the surrounding channels that opened from the isle to the other islands beyond where they eventually linked to the one serving as Aizen's headquarters, Los Noches, and then on to the largest, Hueco Mundo. It took a week to navigate the whole chain, and that was once one knew where they were going. Not every ship could make it, either, none with a deep hull low in the water, like the _Midori_, and not without an astute navigator. Even then a deeper ship required dozens of eyes to watch for the shoals that could ground a ship until high tide, or permanently.

"Doesn't look like the _Bleeding Sister_ is here," Cat said, eyes moving over the beach as _The Pantera_ neared the island's south side and moved to the east where the channels opened. "Or been here and gone."

Grimmjow nodded. "That's likely. Seeing as something's missing, I'd say Schiffer's done lost her."

Cat shook his head. "What's this about, Captain? You're turning down ripe pickings in Blue Towers for what? Or who?" He chuckled, putting the scope to his eye again. "It's not like you."

"If she's valuable to Aizen she's an option to barter my way out of our deal with him." He squinted through the scope at the waters between his ship and the island. "The sooner we're out from that bastard's articles, the better."

"That's it? That's all? You were awfully impressed with that sewing job she done on you. Or something else?"

Grimmjow knew the hinting curiosity in Cat's tone. "It's enough."

Cat now saw what his captain was looking at in the cobalt waters. "I didn't get a good look at her, busy watching your dangling arm spout blood and all. She pretty?"

Grimmjow grinned. "Does it matter?"

Cat shrugged, lowering the scope. "Depends on what you got in mind."

Grimmjow spared him a curt look. "Very pretty." He pointed to where a barrel was bobbing half out of the water a hundred yards away. "Someone's dumping and it doesn't look like it's coming from the _Midori_."

Cat nodded, and then they both looked to the opposite side of the ship as a crewman gave a cry, and then a laugh.

Grimmjow and Cat looked to where a crowd of men had gathered at the other rail, one pulling at something with a hook pole. He brought it over the side as Grimmjow and the first mate joined them.

He held up a soaked dress, grinning at the maroon material. "Got a lady somewhere without her dress," he said with a grin.

Grimmjow studied the item of clothing as more men offered remarks on the find, most crude in nature, until another man hauled up a second dress with the pole.

"Maybe two ladies," the portly crewman said with laugh.

Cat looked to Grimmjow, who was searching the waters for signs of another ship, any ship.

"Captain!" a crewman shouted from a shroud overhead, his bare feet expertly gripping the rope webbing. "Jetsam portside! Lots of it! Looks like water barrels!"

Over the next ten minutes more assorted items floated by _The Pantera_, some caught up by the crew, and Grimmjow began putting together the less obvious scenario than merely the naked women the crew was envisioning.

"Someone's lightening their hull," Cat said, thoughts running along Grimmjow's mind as the crew hauled up a reed hamper of clothing. "The heavy stuff would've sunk already."

Grimmjow nodded, this time his study of the channel _The Pantera_ was approaching with more determination. He focused beyond the wooden bowsprit at the ship's front. "He's heading for home. Nnoitra's going home."

"That rat?" Cat shook his head. "He skipped out on the raid on Blue Towers because he wants to dock home?"

Grimmjow looked back to the crew as they sorted through the hamper, their laughter over the feminine items rising. "The _Bleeding Sister_ is light enough to draft the shoals, one of her advantage points. If he's dumping cargo she's taking on water."

"Take a lot of clothes dumping to lighten a ship," Cat said, turning his back to the rail and crossing his arms. "We're heavier than the _Bleeding Sister_, Captain."

Grimmjow nodded. "We're shallower than the _Midori_. Ulquiorra doesn't have a chance in the shoals and Nnoitra knows it." He looked up at the crewman standing in the shroud. "Any sign of the _Bleeding Sister_?" he called.

The man took a long look at the waterway _The Pantera_ was entering, skirting the island where Ulquiorra's men could be heard yelling for Loly and Menoly. He shook his head. "No sign, Captain! No sign of any other ship!"

Grimmjow turned to see the men at the rail heave over another object from the water, this time a dead pig, appearing freshly killed, fluids still dripping pink from its slit throat.

"Aye, we've got our dinner, men!" one of the crew said with a chuckle. "Tell cook we've got new pig."

Cat looked to Grimmjow. "If Nnoitra's tossing his food supplies he's hurt bad or got a ship fast leaking."

Grimmjow nodded and then waved a hand to the men still looking at the pig. "Take it below to the cook."

His attention went to the island they were swiftly passing, eyes scanning the heavily treed hills blocking most passably beaching points on the land mass. There was a reason Ulquiorra had set anchor where he had; the small island offered few places to dock, and even fewer to a ship as deep in draft as the _Midori_. He knew the only other easily accessible spot on the isle to dock was on the eastern end.

He also knew Nnoitra had claimed the island he wanted in light of Aizen's promise of ownership was nearly impossible to bring a deep ship to, which warded off the scantily populated spot from nearly everyone. The few fishing villages dotting the shallow coastline were just that, and the only real residence of any size was the abandoned estate Nnoitra had already began reconstructing.

Grimmjow had considered relaying that knowledge at his sentencing when he'd been framed for theft of the Kurosaki horses, but the Day of Mercy had compounded his punishment and no one wanted to hear it, and it was shortly after that that Aizen's forces had bribed his and his crew's way out of prison.

He looked to the waterway ahead of _The Pantera_ as it wound its way between the islands, a chorus of warnings going up from the crewmen watching at both ship side rails as they encountered a sudden sandbar that the watchman from the crow's nest was calling out. Renegotiating his debt with Aizen wasn't entirely the reason he gave chase after the _Bleeding Sister_, but he hadn't felt the need to explain to Cat the memories that lingered from the soft touch of the auburn haired girl's fingers on his wounded arm, nor her hazel eyes that fringed the edge of his thoughts at night.

It wasn't only the miraculous healing of his arm, a wound that he knew should have been crippling, but something more in the appeal of her forced relinquishing of her free will to Aizen.

As so many of them had.

** ** **

Grimmjow wasn't aware of the sets of eyes that watched _The Pantera_ from the topmost hill on the isle. Loly and Menoly were breathless and only barely out of sight from the pack of pirates that were hunting for them and Orihime.

Loly leaned against a tree, her eyes on the waterway down the hill past the sharp embankment that left an abrupt drop to the seaway. She panted noisily, her lungs raw from her run through the thick trees and undergrowth with Menoly.

"You didn't plan this out very well, idiot," Menoly said with she caught her breath. "You got rid of her but what are we going to tell Captain Schiffer?" Her face blanched bloodless suddenly beneath her flush of exertion. "What are you going to tell Captain Aizen, Loly?"

The black haired girl shook her head, swallowing difficultly. "Not the truth. Captain Jiruga would kill us. Officer Szayel would mess us up, too."

Menoly nodded, her attention snapping to the treed gulley down the slope of hill inland of the isle where men's voices were calling for them, and Orihime. "We can't keep eluding them. We have to go back, Loly."

"We'll just say she escaped. Ran off." Loly closed her eyes, gritting her teeth.

"She escaped? That milquetoast weaver maid?" Menoly spat the excess saliva that had collected in her mouth. "No one would believe that."

"Then she got lost." Loly shrugged, wiping her damp brow. "We called her and she didn't answer. Maybe fell in a pit or something."

Menoly was looking to the waterway, eyes on the ship moving across the deep blue of the channel. She stood straighter, and then sunk back to a tree to help hide her from anyone onboard bothering to look her way. "There."

Loly frowned at the ship, eyes narrowing on the escutcheon she couldn't read. "Who is it? Captain Jiruga must be gone by now."

Menoly nodded, searching what she could see between the trees for anything resembling any of the ships she knew to be in Aizen's fleet. "I can't read her name from here." Her eyes rose to the masts. "No flag. Not even Captain Aizen's colors."

"Nothing?" Loly moved closer to Menoly.

"Nothing." Menoly smiled as realization set in. "Captain Jaegerjaquez. He never flies Captain Aizen's flag unless he has to."

"He's not supposed to be here." Loly frowned. "_The Pantera_ went south to meet the _Twin Sisters_."

"Well, he's here." Menoly chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Loly. "He must have snagged her."

For a moment Loly just stared at her, comprehension failing. "We can't tell Captain Schiffer that," she finally said, thoughts aligning with Menoly's. "Captain Jaegerjaquez will kill us if he finds out."

Menoly grabbed her arm and dragged her with her down the brushy slope as the pirates' calls grew louder. "The way I see it, any number of captains are going to want to kill us, so right now he's as safe a bet as any of them. We won't say it. Just that we saw _The Pantera_ shortly after that girl disappeared."

Loly shook her head.

"Yes. Why not? He hasn't had time to get to Blue Towers and he's not supposed to be here. That's all we need, Loly."

Loly didn't like it, and neither did Menoly, but it was as reasonable an excuse as either could think up.

"_You_ tell Captain Schiffer," Loly said as they reached the bottom of the slope where the men's calls were loudest. Her heartbeat raced anew at their impending explanation. "He likes you better."

"Captain Schiffer doesn't like --"

"Where the hell have you been?" Yammy yelled suddenly, appearing from behind them. "Captain's been screaming his bloody head off for two hours!"

Loly and Menoly both shrunk from the enormous man as he closed a meaty fist on the latter's shoulder. Menoly shrieked, but her yelp stifled as Ulquiorra stepped from the trees behind the first mate.

"Captain Schiffer," Loly squeaked, genuine fear draining her face of color. "Captain, I, I --"

"Where is she?" he demanded, an unusual darkness claiming his expression. "What have you done with her?"

Loly shook her head, looking to Menoly for support. "Nothing, Captain. We've done nothing. We've been looking for her, but ..."

Ulquiorra drew his sword, advancing on her as she flinched and stepped back. "But _what_? Where is she?"

"She got lost, Captain," Menoly stammered, wincing as Yammy's hand closed tighter on her shoulder. "We think, maybe, maybe abducted."

A different causticity came to Ulquiorra's face. "Who? Why would you think something like that?"

Loly had lost her nerve, eyes on the blade Ulquiorra had drawn. She shook her head. "We didn't actually see anyone, Captain, but, but ..."

"_The Pantera_ was off the shoreline," Menoly said.

Ulquiorra's attention shot to her. "_The Pantera_? Are you sure?"

"It had no flag," she added, the blood running cold in her mind when she had to actually voice the attempted accusation. "Not long ago. Couple of hours after she disappeared."

Ulquiorra looked to Yammy, nodding to him. The first mate released Menoly. She shrugged from him, rubbing her bruised shoulder.

"Which way was he heading?"

Loly didn't dare sigh the relief she felt at Ulquiorra's question. "East, sir. Into the channels."

"Damnation," he muttered, his glare settling on Menoly until she squirmed. "How long ago?"

She shook her head. "A quarter an hour, may a bit more, Captain."

He nodded and turned to Yammy. "Round up the men."


	8. Chapter 8

Night fell too soon for Orihime in the darkened cell of the leaking hull of the _Bleeding Sister_. It had been dark for a long time, the candle in the lantern having drowned in its small holder of melted wax long ago. She'd heard the sounds of men cursing while bailing water at the front of the ship for hours. The squealing pigs had stopped. After a while the cursing of the crew from the forecastle had become less in force, and Orihime didn't know if they were tired from bailing or if the leaking had subsided below the water line.

Nel had only stayed a few minutes, long enough to get her name and promise to return as soon as she could. Orihime was left with the impression the woman who acted like a child was unharmed, not exactly aware of her surroundings, but seemed nearly unafraid of Nnoitra.

It confused Orihime, why Nnoitra was willing to ply the green-haired woman with promises of secrets and play-believe at being captain than by physical force. The woman was armed, Orihime had seen, the sword at the woman's side no toy.

Nel returned in the dark to Orihime's cell shortly later. "Hi," she said cheerily despite the circumstances. "Are you hungry?"

Orihime rose from where she'd leaned to the hull of the ship side opposite the cell's door. Nel's silhouette was outlined by a small light from the candle lantern she carried in one hand. She hung it to one side of the cell door and smiled at Orihime.

"Hi, Nel." Orihime tried to see her better in the swinging lantern's light.

Nel held her arm between the bars, smiling as she offered an apple. "Most of the food got thrown overboard to make us seaworthy, but there's some apples left. No water." She handed a small bottle through the bars. "It's only wine, not hard stuff. All the fresh water is gone, too."

Orihime took the bottle with misgivings, her throat parched and dry from having neither food nor water since that morning before she'd left the _Midori_. It seemed like days ago to her now.

"Thank you, Nel," she murmured, the apple smelling plenty ripe despite its few soft spots. "We're not sinking anymore?"

Nel shook her head, making the strings of knots in her hair bounce. She looked past Orihime at the cell's coir flooring and then back to her, eyes moving over Orihime's hair that appeared dark amber in the poor lighting. "Hey, do you know how to braid? I tried to," she said, fingers picking one of the strands of knots at the side of her face, "but it doesn't look right. Is this braiding?"

Orihime had already taken a large bit of the apple, savoring the warm, somewhat cakey-dry flesh of the fruit, but too thirsty to care. She shook her head, munching. "You can't braid?"

Nel dropped to her knees with the rope of hair in her hand, shaking her head as she leaned to the bars between them. "Nnoitra said it was braiding, but it doesn't look right. He lies sometimes."

Orihime figured it was more than just _sometimes_. She knelt on her side of the bars, looking at the knotted line of hair. "Do you want me to braid it for you?"

Nel nodded immediately and stuck the strand through the bars. "Can you? I'll watch."

Orihime took a big bite of the apple and set it down on her lap to go about untying the tangled hair. "You have a pretty color of hair, Nel," she said, smiling in spite of her circumstances. Under her grandmother's training she was always noting hair color and texture, trying to collect bobbins of thread that would match any she might be required to use. "Very pretty."

"I like yours too," Nel said, giggling and nearly jerking the strand of knots from Orihime's fingers. She reached through the bars and picked up a handful of coir that was mostly dust. "This is old. He never changes it."

Orihime sighed, trying to ignore the dried coconut fiber that made up the bedding. She untangled a section of hair, carefully smoothing the crimped strands in the poor lighting. "Do you know who Officer Szayel is?"

Nel nodded. "I see him sometimes. He has a funny color of hair for a man. He likes my hair."

Orihime's eyes jerked to her, watching some of the smile slip from Nel's face. "Captain Jiruga makes you see him?"

Nel nodded.

"Does he, does he hurt you?" she asked as delicately as she could.

"Officer Szayel? He just looks at my hair. Says I'm growing up." Nel frowned at her. "He's odd."

Orihime tried to keep a smile on her face. "Why don't you turn your back to me so you can lean on the bars?"

Nel nodded and switched positions, letting her back settle against the bars. Orihime moved the thick mane of green locks and knots to one side so the light from the lantern hit the woman's back better. There was something about the woman's behavior that brought up memories of her grandmother to Orihime, most notably when someone, usually an out-of-towner, would bring by another adult who acted like they were a child again. It wasn't always the case, but Orihime had seen enough of the careful spell known as curse stitching to know the signs.

There weren't many who knew the practice or how to do it effectively, but Orihime's grandmother had reversed a few, and she'd learned the simple technique. She moved Nel's hair to one side of her shoulder, fingers feeling along the woman's neck. Sure enough, the x-stitches were there, a neat row of small ones, and they'd been there for a while.

"That spot itches sometimes," Nel said as Orihime ran a finger over the stitches. "Nnoitra said I have fleas, but I don't. Do I?"

Orihime frowned at the threads in the bad lighting. Each single stitch deducted a mental year from the victim, and Nel had seven, making a full fourteen years with the x-pattern, deducting those years from the woman's mind. "No, no bugs, Nel."

She bit her lip, debating her options, which were few. She had no way of cutting the threads, and she doubted she could manage such precise work with the dim light and Nel's sword. She sighed and pulled the knotted strand of hair back to braid. "What's your first memory, Nel?"

"Nnoitra says most memories aren't of any use, that you forget the ones you don't need." Nel's voice turned wistful. "But sometimes I think I remember I had a sister."

"Oh?"

"Nnoitra says I made her up."

"You said he lies."

"Sometimes."

Orihime decided to leave the matter alone. She took another bite of the apple and worked the knots out of the hair, then parted it to make the thin braid. She was halfway through the plait when a rumbling sounded from above and Nel turned her head to look down the aisle where the light faded into darkness.

"Captain Aizen didn't say you were going to be on our ship." Nel cocked her head to see Orihime over her shoulder. "I'm glad you are, but I thought Captain Ulquiorra was supposed to have you."

Orihime wasn't sure what to add to that statement, but before she could, Nel continued.

"Nnoitra said we were going to go south where it's warmer, but the _Five Mirror's_ was sending up the red flag, so Nnoitra had to stop and talk to Captain Aizen. Officer Szayel was there, too, but he only talked a little. He gave me a note to give to Nnoitra. I looked at it, but don't tell anyone," she said in a hushed tone. "Captain Aizen told Nnoitra to take the _Twin Sisters_ and _The Pantera_ back up the coast for another raid, from Silver Bay to Upper White Vale again. He said the _Ginger Wolf_ would be there. I like Lilynette."

The names were only vaguely familiar to Orihime, but the mention of any correspondence between Nnoitra and Szayel piqued her interest. "You saw the note? What did it say? You can tell me, Nel. I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"I couldn't read it. I just looked at it," she admitted. "I should go back up."

Orihime quickly finished the braid, not wanting her to leave. "Do you want to stay here with Captain Jiruga?"

Nel shrugged. "I get to be captain when he's not on deck. I like that. Tesla doesn't like it, but I like it."

"But is he cruel to you?" It wasn't what Orihime wanted to ask, but with the woman's diminished mental capacity she wasn't sure how to ask if the _Bleeding Sister_ had once been hers. "I mean, does Captain Jiruga take stuff from you?"

"He says I can sleep in his bed, if I want to." She giggled, ignoring the question. "I don't want to, Orihime. He smells bad, and he's so big there wouldn't be enough room for me."

"Oh ...yes." Orihime reluctantly wrapped a strand of the hair around the finished braid and set it back over Nels' shoulder. "I couldn't fasten it, so it'll probably come loose."

Nel turned to face her, the braid in her fingers as she touched the smooth design, smiling happily. "Thank you, Orihime. Can you teach me how to do it?"

Orihime hoped so. "Yes. When it's daylight."

Nel nodded and smoothed the braid proudly over her chest so it was prominently displayed. She suddenly leaped to her feet and went into another cell, disappearing momentarily in the dark. When she reappeared her arms were full of buff colored coir.

"This is cleaner," she said, kneeling to push the bedding between the bars, her movements becoming frustrated when she tried to shove too much at one time. "It's a little better."

Orihime pulled the coir from her side, her hopes falling as she did. "Thank you, Nel."

Nel mumbled a soft curse as she pushed the rest through. "I have to go up now." She stood and gave Orihime a frown. "I'll have to give him back the key when we dock for repairs. I have to, you understand."

Orihime stood and nodded, her stomach already twisting into a knot. "I know."

"But not until. Okay?"

Orihime nodded again. "Okay, Nel."

With that Nel left down the aisle way, leaving Orihime alone again with a little more light than she'd had before. Her hands closed around the bars near the cell door.

She closed her eyes and looked to the new pile of coir. It was better, she told herself. Just a little better.

* * *

Grimmjow stood at the bow of _The Pantera_ that night, stern gaze on the mirrored waters that reflected beneath the moon overheard. The moonlight aided in the dozen of crewmen on lookout for the sandbars that peaked near the water's surface, keeping the ship on a narrowly navigated path between the dotting of islands in the waterways.

He didn't see the water, the moon's reflection, not even the shoals that threatened the ship's hull, his attention focusing inwardly. He'd spent the afternoon studying the map of what Nnoitra liked to call his island, committing the land's layout to memory. There were only two spots a ship of any size could dock. One was the western cove that served the fishing village there, the other on the eastern side, providing a deeper natural docking despite the lack of any sizable village. It was the only place on the island that could boast of any trade, and that was primarily with Las Noches or Hueco Mundo.

It was a steep, hilly island, the deep valleys and thick forests able to hide any number of sanctuaries. It was also a poor island, and the population would be easy to bribe.

Cat joined him, his sharp eyes on the water as the ship moved silently through it, the crew especially quiet as they watched for sandy traps. "We can't put in at the western dock without dumping the rest of our ballast, Captain," he said with a sigh. "We'll be too light to manage the turns ahead."

Grimmjow nodded. "I'm taking a boat just before the port village. I want you to meet me on the other side of the east end. It'll be deep enough for us there and we can replenish the fresh water. I want it done before I get back with her."

"If she's there."

Grimmjow looked to Cat, the first mate reading the severity in his captain's expression.

"There's half a dozen ports along the mainland coast Jiruga could have made repairs without chancing the open water," Grimmjow said, scowling back over the water.

"Not friendly ports," Cat added.

"Taking a leaking ship isn't something that even he would do, not unless there was something else in it for him." Grimmjow looked to the main deck where two crewmen were pointing out a sandbar to the helmsman. "Officer Szayel was quite disappointed in not interrogating the maiden. I wouldn't put anything past him."

"Something wizard about that man," Cat said. "You sure about taking a boat? We could swing by the eastern end and dock. It'd put you about the same distance from Captain Jiruga's place."

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed on the water rippling to the ship's hull. "I don't want to wait that long, Cat."

The first mate nodded. "Aye, Captain."

* * *

Morning broke hazy with fog over the lone pier of the fishing village the next day as the _Bleeding Sister_ approached. Fishing boats were already in the water along the shoreline, but the dock was empty save for the old man who acted as master there, and even he was used more for the fishing boats than full size ships.

But Nnoitra, in his haste to make the small island serviceable to his needs as its future dictator, had insisted on several things, one being the dock master who was to alert the only residence of any size of any ship - once he was instilled as the governor. Aizen hadn't made that official yet, but it didn't stop Nnoitra from acting the role.

The dock master knew the ship that approached the dock, and knew she was lower in the water than she should be. He also knew the captain of the ship was the only person who should be alerted to a ship docking, and so he watched as the _Bleeding Sister's_ crew tied off the bollards, loosely, and waited for the shift in tides to begin repairs.

Orihime felt the change in the hull's lean, awaking from disturbing dreams of Nnoitra as the ship slowed for the approach to shore. The crew had already started moving what little remained of the ballast to the portside of the ship in preparation for turning its damaged side exposed for repair. She sat up from her bed of coir, back aching and her legs cramped from being huddled close to her in the damp coolness of the cell.

For a long moment she licked her lips in the stuffy darkness, trying to reserve what little remained of any moisture in her mouth. The apple Nel gave her was gone, and she'd only sipped the wine when her thirst got the better of her. She didn't want the effects of it, and what she had had left her even thirstier. She sat up against the hull as the ship leaned, wooden boards groaning as the ballast and weight of the water from the leak pulled portside.

She pushed her hair from her eyes, and then hurriedly got to her feet as a light appeared from the aisle way. Nel jumped the last few stair steps to the floor and skipped to the cell where Orihime waited.

"Hi," she said, displaying her braid at her neck with a smile. She held up a flask. "It's not much, but it's water." She handed it through the bars as Orihime stepped closer, her ankles and knees stiff from a fitful night of sleep.

"Thank you, Nel." She took the flask, feeling greedy for it, but paused as she looked to the woman's eager face. "I don't want to take the last of your water, Nel. I can wait -"

"We're stocking up soon. Go ahead," Nel said, tossing her a wave. She pulled an end of a loaf of bread from her tunic and reached it to her. "Sorry it's not more, Orihime, but the rest had too many worms in it. I picked them all out."

The repulsion that rushed Orihime at the mention made her want to vomit, but her stomach was empty of anything to pitch. She drank the water, locking her mind from the image of maggots.

"He'll be down soon," Nel said, her voice dropping some. "He said you're going for a horse ride. I can't go with you."

Orihime nodded, unsure what to say to the child in the woman's body. "You'll stay with the ship?"

Nel nodded, smiling more. "I'll be captain while he's gone. We have some repairs, and we need supplies," she said importantly. "I get to give the orders. Even Tesla has to listen to me."

"You'd make a good captain." Orihime looked down at the cap of bread. It didn't look too bad, she decided. No sign of anything crawling.

"You should eat it before he comes down," Nel told her. "I've got to go. I'll say bye now, in case I don't see you before you leave."

Orihime nodded. "I hope to see you again, Nel."

Nel smiled. "Okay."

She left then, and Orihime made herself choke down the small piece of bread, the taste nothing but stale and damp. She didn't look for vermin. She drank all the water, and then hid the flask and wine in the coir, in case Nnoitra would be mad at whoever had given it to her.

He appeared a few minutes later, the lantern turned up bright announcing his entrance. He grinned at her, the swinging light making his face take on odd shadows from the cell door. "I see you're all up and ready for our trip, pet." He nodded to her. "Take your shoes off."

The sinking feeling plummeted in Orihime's stomach. "My shoes?"

"Yep. Shoes." The ring of keys clanked against the cell door as he found the right one this time. "Damn, musta missed that one last night." The door swung open and he stepped in, setting down the lantern. In his other hand was a few feet of chain with metal cuffs at each end.

Orihime reluctantly removed her slippers with shaky hands, stepping away from him as he neared.

He grinned as she backed to the side of hull. "Much as I like a bit of terror in your eyes, you can save it, pet. We got a ride in front of us, and a nice time this evening. Don't be getting all worn out now. I like a taste of fight."

"Please, don't," she said as he snatched her wrist in a fierce hold when she tried to put her hand behind her back. "You don't have to chain me up, Captain. I won't run away."

"Aw, no? Why don't I believe that?"

The cuff snapped around her wrist and he checked the lock. Nodding, he grabbed her other wrist and closed the other end of cuff around it.

"I'll tell you now, girl," he said, all smile dropping from his face and tone, "you get past me and you've got the island to deal with. I am ruler here - mostly - and anyone who finds you will turn you back over to me, and I won't be so nice then. Cap'n Ulquiorra can't get to you, and you'll have no friend in Szayel, either, so get along with me." He leaned closer, head drooping to her neck, where he took an exaggerated sniff as she turned her face from him. "Mighty tasty-smelling."

She didn't close her eyes, instead trying not to breathe as he pulled her hands close to his chest.

"Let's go. All nice like."

The small village was awake by the time Orihime found herself pushed before Nnoitra down the wooden pier extended from the shore. Crewmen carrying buckets of hot tar and wax passed her, some chuckling as her bare feet moved quickly along the plank dock. She hadn't seen Nel, and Orihime felt the last of her safety slipping from her as Nnoitra took her through the village's few streets.

It was a sunny day, the warm clay streets welcome to her feet as he took them through the main thoroughfare where women and vendors were already peddling wares and vegetables and fish from the canopied carts, mostly to each other. Orihime looked hungrily to the items for sale, but her stomach was churning with worry over her immediate future, overcoming most thoughts of food.

The chain to her shackles was in Nnoitra's hand as she lagged behind him when he stopped at a few carts, putting in orders for supplies to the _Bleeding Sister_ over the next few hours. A few of the vendors gave her suspicious stares, a couple of women looking from her bonds to the tall man clutching the chain.

But no one said anything to her, no nod, no voice on her behalf. The most she got was a few pitying looks from some of the girls her age that were selling melons at a cart with their father.

Orihime tried to cooperate with the yanks at the chain that cut the cuffs into her wrists, but by the time they got to the stables on the outskirts of town after noon, her courage and dignity were flagging.

Nnoitra pulled her into the large barn that was lined with stalls on either side, a well-maintained building that seemed out of place in the fishing village. Orihime looked into the stalls as they passed, a few of the horses blinking at her as a blacksmith's hammer rang off an anvil from the back of the building, reminding her of Chad, and how far away from home she was.

A burly man in a leather apron appeared from the rear of the stable near the doorway that opened to a small paddock of horses outside. He was dirty from bellows dust and smelled of tack oil and smoke. He looked from Nnoitra to Orihime and back to Nnoitra.

He nodded. "Captain."

Nnoitra grinned. "Got my horses for me?"

The smith nodded again. "You want them saddled, Captain?"

"Just one."

Orihime followed the men to the back of the stable where the paddock held eight horses, three of which stood much taller than the other horses of more modest height. A surreal feeling passed over Orihime as Nnoitra and the man spoke and a tall bay horse was saddled.

She knew those three horses, not personally, but the breed, even their lineage. The sheer height of the breed was common to her through her childhood riding with Ichigo and her brother on the Kurosaki lands. It was the only breed King Yamamoto used, and the Kurosaki stables were the only breeder of the line, supplying only the King's stables. Even Byakuya Kuchiki was allowed only the mares of lesser stature to breed with his highly prized stallions, something Orihime knew was a limited privilege. Her childhood days of racing horses with Ichigo and playing the daring games they had on horseback seemed to belong to someone else as Orihime looked now at the horses.

The horse was at her side as the smith finished saddling the gelding, its rump eyelevel to her. Even Nnoitra's tall form seemed less imposing beside the large animal. Orihime put one hand to the horse's side as the men talked, the few feet of chain that connected between her hands allowing her fingers to move to the horse's rump. She knew where to find the brand, the distinguishing mark that separated a Kurosaki horse from the King's stock. She felt the mark, but only one.

There was not a second brand that designated the King's horses once in the royal stables. She looked to Nnoitra as he turned to her, seeing her hand.

His eyes sharpened on her. "What're you doing, pet?"

She shook her head.

Nnoitra looked to the smith, who awaited further instructions. "We're done here," he said, then his gaze shifted to a teenage girl peeking from inside the stable at them. He chuckled at her. "You want to come along with us?"

Orihime looked to the girl, who appeared a few years younger than her. The girl shook her head, eyes wide with fear as she disappeared back into the stable, but not before paling at Nnoitra's grin.

"You know my niece?" There was no smile in the smith's face or tone now. His eyes dropped to Orihime's bound hands. "How do you know her, Captain?"

Nnoitra shook his head, taking the bridle reins from him. "Now how would I know a delicate thing like her?"

For a few seconds the smith seemed to hesitate over something, eyes hardening on Orihime's imploring face, hands balling into fists. Then he shook his head.

"'Course not," Nnoitra said, turning to Orihime. His hand relaxed on the chain as he took her arm and put the other to her back. "Up you go. Back of the saddle."

Orihime shook her head. "This isn't your horse. No one is supposed -"

His hand clapped over her mouth, fingers pressing painfully into her cheek as his voice lowered. "Not your business, pet. You keep your pretty mouth shut about my horses, you got that?"

She wanted to bite through the hand, but she only nodded, eyes locked on his.

"Good."

Under the smith's wary watch Nnoitra hoisted Orihime up onto the horse's back, depositing her roughly behind the saddle before climbing somewhat awkwardly up before her into the saddle.

He let the reins rest at the horse's withers and pulled the chain at Orihime's wrists over his head and shoulders to settle across his waist. She immediately pulled her arms as far as she could away from his body, her hands still trapped at his sides.

He gathered the reins and turned the horse to the paddock fence, nodding to the smith. "Keep good care my animals."

Orihime glanced back at the burly man, and then to the other two tall horses in the fenced area as Nnoitra kicked their mount into a brisk walk to the alley leading out from behind the stables.

They headed out of the village to be enveloped in a dense forest of assorted broadleaf and fernlike trees that held in the humidity, making the day's heat magnify. They traveled for three hours into the island's interior amid the steep, treed hills and trickling streams that cut through the winding landscape.

Orihime lost track of the time, the afternoon lapsing into early evening without stopping for any length of time, even the horse only getting a slow break to drink from a few creeks as Nnoitra pushed their progress. By the time they reached the few buildings sprawling among the clearing that broke from the trees it was edging dusk.

She was almost too afraid to look, but Orihime did as the horse turned to a little used path that cut across the spiny grass that stuck up in clumps. The house was two stories, a once grand building that had fallen to ruin, but with signs of reconstruction at one end. Beyond it was a stable in remarkably good shape, fencing lacing behind it into the trees.

Nnoitra took the weary horse to the stables, grumbling curses as they went. "Where the hell is everyone?" he muttered to no one. "My horses better have water."

He halted at the barn and looked to the creek running through the pasture, nodding with satisfaction. He grinned at Orihime as he wrenched her off the tall horse, catching her as her knees nearly buckled from the bone-numbing ride. She pushed away from him, but he jerked the chain taut and towed her with him to the house, the horse trailing from the reins in his other hand.

The grass was more than spiky in appearance, the dry bristle-like blades poking into her feet as she tried to suppress complaints. By the time they got to the servants' door entering into the kitchen at the back of the house her soles were bleeding in several spots.

Nnoitra left the horse to eat the wild flowers at the back of the house, pulling off the saddle and dropping the reins, and took Orihime through the empty kitchen, all the while shouting for the housekeeper.

No one appeared in response to his calls, and he twisted the chain tighter in his hand as Orihime balked as they entered the large grand room of the house where a staircase curved to the second floor. No furnishings were to be seen, only a few tapestries over several arched doorways.

"Dammit, you leave for a coupla months and every damn servant scrams out," Nnoitra barked, voice echoing off the tall stone walls. "Housekeep!"

Orihime found herself half dragged up the staircase, her feet slick with blood on the wooden steps as the dim second floor opened before them. Nnoitra hadn't bothered with any lights and Orihime wasn't in a mood to see what was about to happen that evening in any better clarity.

The second floor was musty and closed up, the heat from the day settling in the hall of shut doors. Orihime's heart was thumping painfully in her chest, her ears ringing from thirst.

Nnoitra opened one of the doors in the darkened corridor and shoved her in, pushing her to the tall four post bed that was pushed to an inside wall opposite a single, tall window. The only light came from the early moon in the heavens. "You can eat later. If you're good, pet."

She shook her head, her voice shaky when she attempted speaking. "Captain, please don't do this," she said as he opened the top drawer of a chest-on-chest at the bed side. "Please -"

"Stop your whining." He withdrew a hammer and a few double-pointed nails.

She shrieked as he shoved her onto the bed, trying to scramble away as he knelt next to her and pulled the chain by a center link to the wall.

He held the metal ring to the middle of the wall above the headboard, making her arms stretch tight as he pounded the nail through the link and bent it over to drive the second end deep, anchoring her there. He drove in three more nails, bending each.

Orihime scooted away on her knees, making it merely a few feet before Nnoitra's arm anchored around her waist and dragged her back to him, a low chuckle escaping him as his hand felt along her ribs to her dress waistband.

"Captain, please don't do this," she pleaded, recoiling from his mouth moving to her neck. "Please, please don't."

He backed away and drew a knife from his side, the glint catching the muted light from the tall window. "I shoulda cut you out before chaining you up. Not a problem," he said, laughing as he slit the back of her yellow dress to her waist, and then the chemise below.

She shuddered, not at the coolness of the evening on her back but Nnoitra's tongue that licked a line from along her shoulder to below her hairline, his hand gripping her hair tightly.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Please don't, Captain Jiruga."

He sat closer behind her, crowding her between his knees as the knife blade cut along her dress sleeve and then through the chemise below. "Be friendly, pet."

She shook her head, the tears beginning down her cheeks as both layers of yellow and white material fell from arm. She pulled her arms as close to her chest as the chain tether allowed, catching the chemise against herself.

Nnoitra ripped the second set of sleeves at her other arm, separating the material from her clutch, making her edge to the headboard on her knees, still crouched, trying to keep her arms to her chest. His arm hooked under her waist, fingers embedded over hers at her breasts.

"Please, please stop," she sobbed, turning her face as he licked the tears streaming at her cheek. "Please don't, Captain."

He suddenly sat back, turning to look toward the open doorway. "Shut up," he ordered, listening.

Orihime tried to check her cries, holding her breath, daring not to look at him, seeing only his large hand on her breast below her.

He listened for a long moment, and then suddenly shoved her to the headboard and held the point of the knife to her chin. Her eyes went to him, sobs contained.

"You stay quiet 'til I get back or I'll cut you up so small even Szayel won't find anything of you, understand?" he breathed close to her face.

She nodded, sniffling.

He was off the bed and out the doorway in seconds, pulling the thick door shut behind him. A sputter of sobs broke from Orihime as she panted into her hands. She moved off the bed, her wrists still held tight even when she let her arms extend, her dress and chemise top falling from her chest. She pulled at the chains, bracing one knee to the headrest and holding her breath as she strained.

The chain and nails held firm, and she twisted her wrist in one of the cuffs, the metal cutting into her skin and scraping a path of abrasions down to her thumb and the back of her hand. She gritted her teeth against the pain and pulled harder, desperation making the flesh curl at the joint of bones that stuck out at her wrist and knuckles, preventing the cuff from freeing.

Her wrist twisted futilely in the metal, precious seconds ticking by as she feared Nnoitra's return. She was still fighting the metal band when the door opened. She turned quickly, holding her breath in the muggy air.

But the form at the doorway wasn't the one she dreaded most, and it took Orihime a moment to recognize Grimmjow in the faint moonlight, sword drawn in one hand. Her arms automatically clutched over her chest as he crossed the room to her.

"Captain Jaegerjaquez," she whispered as his free hand wound around the chain at the wall.

"Keep quiet," he said lowly, grunting as he pulled the chain and nails from the wall with a swift yank. He looked back to her, for a moment attention pausing on the filmy light from the moon on her shoulders beneath the tangle of dark auburn hair as she clutched her arms over her exposed chest in absence of her torn clothing.

He took off his black vest and pushed it to her, eyes going to the bed where faint bloodstains were swiped on the tan bedspread. "Is that from your feet or something else?"

Orihime's mind put together what he wasn't saying as she turned her back to him. "My feet."

She heard him move to the door as she raised her arms over her head to let the chain drop behind her back to allow her to put on the vest.

Grimmjow stood at the open doorway, eyes sharp on the hall as he heard Nnoitra moving on the first floor, the tall pirate's mumbled curses carrying through the still house. He looked back to Orihime, for a moment forgetting the very real danger on the first floor as he watched. Moonlight played across her bare back, the chain sagging across her ripped clothing at her skirt behind her as she whisked on his vest. One shoulder blade moved as she pulled up the material, a hand flicking her hair out from the collar.

Nnoitra's footsteps on the staircase made Grimmjow look back to the hall.

Orihime found no closures on the vest so she gathered the black sides to tie at her breasts, then turned to see Grimmjow look back to her. With a few strides he crossed the room and took her arm, bringing her to the tall window. Out it was a patio at the rear of the house, shrouded by billowing hedges that were untrimmed.

He looked to her. "I'll drop you out here. There's a horse around the side of the house by the well. Wait there for me."

She hoped she hadn't heard right. "Drop me?"

His arm was already encircling her waist, lifting her quickly so her injured feet rested on the window ledge. He set his sword to one side of the window and pulled the chain out from the vest behind her. He raised her arms overhead, and then grabbing both of her wrists backed her out of the window, seeing her eyes on the tiles below, her breath catching near his ear as he let her dangling form lower as far as he could reach down to the patio.

It was still a few feet of a drop, but Orihime steadied on her feet upon landing on the clay tiles. She glanced up to see Grimmjow disappear from the window. She turned and ran across the patio to the back of the house despite her cut soles, pausing to get her bearings for where the well would be.

She rounded the house and stopped short, pressing to the stone wall as she heard scuffling from inside, and then the thick steps of horse hooves. She held her breath, searching the yard of spiky grass for the well, and then ventured farther out when the thump of horse hooves grew louder.

She'd made it halfway to the well a few acres away where it was shrouded in barberry hedges when the horse hooves quickened, and she looked to the house to see Nnoitra appear astride the horse from the village stable. With a whimper she dashed across the yard, seeing the well but no waiting horse. Behind her there was a shout and the horse and rider bolted after her.

Orihime didn't look back again, her legs churning as fast as she could make them move, ignoring the cutting grass slicing into her soles. She'd barely reached the well under the clouding night sky when a second set of hoof beats joined the first.

She let herself take a quick peek over her shoulder to see Grimmjow merge from the opposite side of the house on a horse as tall as the one Nnoitra rode, kicking the animal into a mad gallop. With a stream of curses Nnoitra whipped his mount into a run.

Orihime was at full speed a few moments later when the hoof beats came up on her, the steamy panting of the horse passing over her hair as an arm swept her from the spiky grass, lifting her off her feet. She knew it was Grimmjow, knew it wasn't Nnoitra by smell alone. The horse charged on as she clung to Grimmjow's shirt and threw her leg over the saddle behind him, ducking under his arm in a movement she'd done half a dozen times before with Ichigo as children.

But never at a dead run; a trot, at fastest.

Her arms came around his waist as she turned to see Nnoitra closing in, his sword in one hand as he shouted at her. In front of her Grimmjow had pivoted to see Nnoitra, his hand grabbing hers from his shirt. Before she realized what he was doing Grimmjow pulled her hand free from his shirt and threw his leg over the horse's mane.

He landed on his feet, drawing his sword as he ran back to intercept Nnoitra. Orihime turned at his abrupt departure, reaching instinctively for the reins knotted before her. She scrambled into the saddle and reined in the galloping horse, watching the dark yard behind her.

Grimmjow reached Nnoitra as the taller man was turning his horse, Grimmjow's blade catching Nnoitra's in a clash that brought Nnoitra out of the saddle.

"Damn you, Grimmjow!" Nnoitra screamed, rolling and back on his feet as Grimmjow met him with another slash.

Nnoitra caught this one with his own sword, shoving against him with enough force to bring Grimmjow to a stop.

Orihime held her breath, watching as the two men exchanged equal slashes and swipes and curses, neither making much progress until Grimmjow's blade sliced in an uppercut that brought a bellow of pain from Nnoitra, one hand going to his already scarred eye. In retaliation he beat Grimmjow back a few steps, the last vicious swipe opening his chest.

Grimmjow roared something in a language Orihime didn't recognize and issued a flurry of blows back on Nnoitra, the last a backhanded motion that sent him to his knees with the flat side of his sword blade. Nnoitra fell over and lay still in the sharp blades of grass.

Grimmjow looked to Orihime an acre away, his chest cut open and rapid breathing making the bleeding seep onto the white cloth.

His eyes moved from the pale skin of her leg where the yellow skirt had fallen over thigh during the horse's flight through the yard to where his black vest was tied across her chest.

She exhaled the breath she was holding, her hands gathering the reins as she looked back at him. For a moment she thought to take the horse at a gallop out of the clearing, far away from the two pirates bleeding in the yard. She could see him watching her, his expression unclear as she debated handing herself over to yet another pirate captain.

She saw the dark seep at his white shirt, the blood without color in the moonlight. She turned the horse's head in Grimmjow's direction, her bare heels kicking at the animal's sides.

Grimmjow met her halfway, eyes never leaving hers as the doubt became apparent in her face. She stopped the horse when she reached him, mind still twisting between decisions. He pulled the skirt over her leg, fingers resting on her knee as he sheathed the sword, and then climbed up behind her.

Orihime's hands gave up the reins to his in front of her, and Grimmjow turned the horse east out of the clearing.

* * *

**Authors' Note:** _Thanks so much for reading and for all the reviews!_


	9. Chapter 9

Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu reached the port town of Silver Bay early the preceding day and spent most of the morning inquiring of the ships docked there about any sign of the horde Aizen had enlisted, but there was scant information to be gotten. No one wanted to say more than they had to, the dock masters either having been bribed or threatened into silence by a number of pirates representing Ulquiorra and Starrk.

But a few were of a little help, mostly in referring Ichigo to inquire of the taverns.

By late in the warm afternoon along the docks, well after most of the taverns and brothels had filled and the more serious of sailors had a belly full of ale, Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu had exhausted most of the bars and food houses. Only a few were left, and those Ichigo had saved for last out of sheer reputation alone.

Even Chad balked at the unruly sounds coming from the small tavern called the Raging Bear at the edge of the row of dockside bars.

Ichigo estimated the open doorway of the establishment, the smell of ale, some of it used, coming from the alleys around it.

Uryuu was looking at the tavern with reservations. "This better be about Orihime, Kurosaki, and not your stables getting torched. I'm not going in there for any reason other than her."

Ichigo couldn't agree more, but he just shrugged. "It was only the foaling barn, and it was empty at the time. This is about Orihime, Ishida."

With a nod, they three entered.

The tavern was dimly lit, tables and benches lining the walls, tables with chairs crowding the main floor, and the most mangy bout of pirates and legitimate seamen crowding every place to sit, most of the extremely large or muscular variety. A loud belch came from a man leaning against the wall to the side of the doorway as Ichigo and his friends paused.

"What you rich sprouts doing here?" he asked through another sloppy burp.

Ichigo looked to him, steeling himself against stepping away at the man's pointed glare, one hand wrapped around the neck of a bottle of whiskey as he balanced on one leg, his only leg, at the wall. "We're trying to find information about any ships under Captain Aizen's hire that was seen in port a few days," Ichigo said, bypassing the fact that no one had confirmed there had been any ships at all. He had learned over the course of the day that an assumptive attitude was more potent than begging for information. He ignored Chad and Uryuu's suspicious looks to him. "Do you know anything about it?"

The man nodded. "There was no ship with Captain Aizen's colors in the harbor, son, but the _Midori_ was seen up at Potter's Village, north of here. Left a few days ago. No new cargo, just a stopover."

Ichigo wanted to grin at the success of his ploy, but he didn't think a smile would be very welcome to the sailor. "Was there ..." He didn't want to bring up Orihime by name, and not even the presence of a girl in the rough harbor. "Did you see it?"

He nodded. "But that's all I know. All anyone will know. That and she made off with a slip of a girl with the captain and first mate. Big fella." He downed a swig of whiskey, eyes shrewd on them. "If you're going after someone like the cutthroats under Captain Aizen's flag, you're gonna want to talk to that man there."

Ichigo looked to where the man pointed at a corner table.

Chad and Uryuu shook their heads as they followed Ichigo's attention.

"That guy?" Uryuu nearly squeaked when he saw Zaraki Kenpachi and his table of two men and a small girl with pink hair. "What's a child doing in a place like this?"

The seamen at the wall chuckled. "He's your only chance if you're going after the _Midori_ or any of her sisters. No one else will sail against the bastard's horde."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, starting across the room, careful not to bump or nudge any of the score of men and few women that were laughing and drinking at the tables.

"Are you sure about this guy?" Chad asked as they neared Zaraki's table, their eyes adjusting to the dim interior, their noses to the stale stench of liquor and ale.

"If he's the only one willing to follow after the _Midori_ or any of Captain Aizen's ships, yes." Ichigo stopped before the table where Zaraki and the few men were sitting. He looked between the red-haired man with a belligerent ponytail and the other man, both tattooed, one heavily so. The girl that was standing beside the largest man gave Ichigo and his friends a smile, leaning her arm on Zaraki's shoulder, fingers traipsing over the small bells tinkling atop the man's pointy hair that stuck out like a star on steroids.

Ichigo cleared his throat as Zaraki's attention glared on him. "Captain? I'm looking for a ship to hire."

Uryuu mumbled something as Zaraki gave them all a scrutinizing glare.

"Where you going, boy?"

Ichigo looked between the other men at the table and back to Zaraki. "I'm trying to find a friend who left with the _Midori_, I think. A woman."

A whistle came from the black-haired man with several tattoos on his face. "You sure you want her back after she's been taken by the _Midori_? You know it's under Captain Aizen's flag now, don't you?"

Ichigo nodded. "I know it. I just want to talk to her."

Zaraki chuckled, a low grumble that made the girl standing beside him smile wider. "That's some pretty pricey talking," he said, eyeing Chad and Uryuu with his good eye not covered by the eye patch crossing his head. "No one wants to sail against the _Five Mirrors_ or any ship under its flag. You know what happened to the Hinamori girl, don't you?"

Ichigo nodded. What he'd heard was mostly rumor, but if half held true, he knew the gist of the story. Young Momo Hinamori had been courted to within an inch of her life by the dashing Sousuke Aizen, but when Momo's father had refused to put part of his shipyard up as dowry to the man, Aizen had dropped his proposal of marriage to Momo and left the girl devastated. Something from which she never recovered, still expecting him to come back to her, even after his raids along the coast began, and even after he'd sunk a few of her father's ships.

"That's why I want to talk to her. It's not like her to take off." Ichigo looked from Zaraki to the other two men, seeing he was getting nowhere. "She was my fiancée' and I want to know why she broke our engagement."

That got through.

Zaraki looked to where the red-haired man was chuckling. "What are you laughing at, Renji?"

Renji shrugged. "Rich kid like this gets dumped by a girl and he's ready to move hell itself to know why." He downed his mug of whiskey, eyes narrowing on Ichigo. "You can't take a _no_?"

Ichigo scowled at him. "I want to know; that's all."

Renji shrugged. "I know who you are. You're that guy who won the tournament at the capital a year ago. Youngest ever to do it."

Zaraki raised his good eyebrow. "Oh? Did you now?" He laughed heartily. "Sit down, you and your little friends."

Chad grabbed two chairs that were unoccupied from another table. At first the three men at the other table gave him a sour look, but when Zaraki's gaze went to them, they said nothing.

Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu sat at the table, returning Renji and the other man's attention as Zaraki waved over a bar maid for two more bottles of whiskey. When everyone had a drink, he grinned at Ichigo.

"My temporary first mate, Renji, temporary helmsman Shuuhei," he said with a gesture at the men, "my partner, Yachiru."

The girl gave Ichigo a bright smile.

"Isn't she too young to be in here?" Uryuu couldn't help but ask.

"I say it's okay," Zaraki growled.

Ichigo took a drink, the powerful liquid burning a hole down his throat. "Temporary? Where's your real crew?"

Both Renji and Shuuhei were half out of their seats at the remark before Zaraki gave a bellow of a laugh. Both men sat, eyes sharpening on Ichigo.

"My first mate's in jail for fighting. A fortnight for fighting." Zaraki cleared his throat. "My helmsman's bemoaning his departure." He shrugged, making Yachiru's hand bob at his shoulder. "I'm without a navigator, and Aizen isn't one to follow without a good navigator."

Ichigo looked to Chad and Uryuu, both of who were looking dubiously at their whiskey. "If I put up the money for a navigator, could you find one?"

Renji and Shuuhei traded looks, chuckling.

Zaraki looked to them, nodding. "I could arrange one." He grinned wider. "There's no crime in breaking a girl's heart, but there are consequences. I can secure the best navigator not in the King's employment with her own bend on justice. She'd be more than willing to sail with us. And you."

Ichigo nodded, relieved, until Zaraki spoke again.

"But you'd have to wait for my mate to finish his jail sentence." He grinned, a glaring expression that seemed to poke holes in each of them. "Unless you've got the coin to get him out early, rich boy."

"He's got the coin," Renji said, nodding as he looked at Ichigo over the cup as he drained it of whiskey.

"How do you know?" Ichigo bit back.

Renji lowered the empty cup. "Because you're that Kurosaki boy. I saw you compete. Tatsuki wouldn't shut up about it for a week," he muttered lowly.

"You know Tatsuki?"

"Occasionally."

"Tatsuki's not an _occasionally_ type of girl," Ichigo said, hand tightening on his mug.

"Didn't say she was," Renji said.

"She got mad at him," Yachiru offered, giggling. "Busted up with him."

Ichigo frowned at Renji. "Then you know Orihime, too."

Renji sat straighter. "That's the girl you're going after?"

Ichigo nodded. "Tatsuki didn't tell you about Orihime being engaged?"

"Hey, I mind my own business." Renji looked around for the bar maid.

"Is it any of your business that Tatsuki was attacked? Probably by someone from the _Midori_, too," Ichigo added.

Renji's attention sharpened. "When?"

"About a week ago. That's when Orihime disappeared."

Zaraki had just poured everyone another drink, only topping off Chad and Uryuu's, who hadn't finished much of theirs. "You're serious about following the _Midori_?"

Ichigo nodded.

Renji stood up and threw a couple of coins on the table. He made his way through the tables and strode toward the door.

"Where're you going?" Zaraki called, hushing half the clamor of the room as his voice rang out.

"To see Tatsuki!" Renji called back.

Zaraki frowned at Ichigo. "You want to sail with us or no?"

"Yes. I'll get your first mate out, if I can."

Zaraki nodded. "Renji! Be back by morning! We're sailing!"

Renji gave a wave and left the tavern.

Zaraki's was studying Ichigo.

He returned the large man's piercing look. "How much for passage?"

Zaraki heaved a shrug. "We'll settle up later. I welcome the chance to give chase to the likes of Aizen."

"Then why aren't you on the sea now?" Chad asked quietly.

Zaraki chuckled. "Like I said, I'm without a navigator."

Ichigo nodded, trying to summon the courage to take another drink. "Where's your ship? What dock?"

"Last one south on the slips." Zaraki drained his cup of whiskey.

"What's the name?" Ichigo asked.

"No name."

Uryuu frowned at him. "You have no name for your ship? Isn't that confusing?"

"I only have one ship; narrows it down a bit," Zaraki growled at him before looking back to Ichigo. "You get my first mate sprung and I'll knock off one third my going fare."

"One third of what?" Uryuu asked.

Zaraki grinned, sitting back in his chair as Yachiru settled a hip against his arm, her smile turning mischievous. "Last slip on the dock, boys. Captain Zaraki, at your service, for a price."

Ichigo looked to Chad, and then Uryuu. He shrugged. "I'll go see about your first mate."

Zaraki nodded. "Name's Ikkaku. Might be pricey."

* * *

By the time Grimmjow and Orihime reached the eastern side of the island Nnoitra was claming as his in the Hueco Mundo archipelago it was a few hours before dawn. They'd left the house where Orihime had narrowly escaped one of her worst nightmares for the surrounding forest of trees at a canter, a pace too fast for the dark of night and unknown territory, but Grimmjow was in no mood for a leisure journey.

They'd spent the first hour at the fast pace, the rugged hills of trees testing the horse's resolve, and then Grimmjow dropped the gait to an easy lope once they reached the little traveled road that cut across the island. Even the relatively decent trail was more than taxing on the injury on man sitting behind her, and Orihime knew it.

She heard Grimmjow's breathing ragged against her back, felt the sticky warmth of blood at the vest, and had attempted to suggest they stop, but he'd cut off her words with a stunted '_Not now'_ and pushed their progress.

By the time they got to the small village port nearly four hours later she knew his injury had taken a toll. His coughing had increased, his muted swearing along with it.

He turned them down the main way that cut through the village, the sweaty horse at a weary jog. It was a smoother gait than most horses would have had, the selectively high breeding of the horse showing, but it was a tired animal with its double burden.

Orihime was tired, too, her lack of food and water catching up with her, but the fear of assorted things keeping her wide awake. As the arm around her turned the horse down the silent dark street she rethought her decision.

The double docks stretching into the water under the moonlight were accompanied by a single ship, and she easily recognized _The Pantera_ despite the absence of flags. The sight of another pirate ship made her heart skip faster, this time painfully as she fully realized the extent of her choice at Nnoitra's house.

Grimmjow halted the horse at the dock where the ship was tied and swung down. Orihime looked to him, eyes resting on the bloodstained shirt that was matted against his chest. She'd just put one foot in the stirrup when he put both hands to her waist and lifted her down.

She leaned her back to the horse, numb from the long ride. "Thank you, Captain Jaegerjaquez," she said. The night air was chill against her back where the vest was wet. Her eyes went to his shirt. "Thank you for everything back there."

He nodded, watching the knot in the vest shift at her chest. "Nnoitra's not dead, if that's what you're wondering. That's not my fight to end."

She nodded, confused.

He looked to the ship as footsteps were heard. Orihime took a deep bracing breath as she saw the row of a dozen pirates at the rail. The lines between right and wrong and needful desperation had blurred when she sat on the tall horse in Nnoitra's yard staring back at the man who'd just saved her from certain assault, but setting foot on another pirate ship made her now hesitate. She balked as Grimmjow's hand took hers and they approached the ship.

He looked back at her, her uncertain expression in the moon's light eclipsing her relief at rescue.

"Come along," he said. "We're sailing."

She nodded and followed him onto the gang plank extended to the ship, her sore feet only a little less painful.

On deck the crew of _The Pantera_ looked with interest at the girl following their captain, her makeshift blouse not eluding their study. Under Grimmjow's stern look the crews' attention left Orihime.

Cat nodded at them. "Welcome aboard, Captain. All went well, I gather."

Grimmjow nodded. "All the crew aboard?"

"Yes, Captain." Cat scratched the back of his head below the bandana tied across his hair. "About the fresh water, Captain, we only got two barrels. Captain Jiruga's declared a one barrel limit for ships without his consent. I managed two."

"Damn him," Grimmjow muttered, frowning.

"I know you wanted to keep this quiet, so I didn't put up a fight," Cat said. "You want I should go _manage_ more out of the stock yard?"

"No. Set sail. We'll stop at the Swan Islands farther out."

"Aye, Captain." Cat turned to the crew and called out orders to get _The Pantera_ underway.

Grimmjow brought Orihime to the rear of the ship where the quarterdeck rose above the main deck, this time the aft cabins nearly at deck level rather than sunken as the _Midori's_ had been. He opened the door and let her in.

Orihime found herself in much the same set up as the _Midori_, with an office preceding the captain's cabin, but Grimmjow didn't pause in the first room lit by a single glass lantern at the table. He ushered her to the bed chamber at the back of the office, pushing away the curtain that sectioned off the doorway.

The fireplace from the office was shared by the bedroom, its fire pit accessed from both sides. Several candle lamps illuminated the room. Opposite the hearth was a large bed pushed to the rear wall of the ship, with windows on either outside wall and a small table and two chairs at one wall. Grimmjow stopped her at the washstand near one of the windows where a lamp was cleated to the wall.

He poured water from the pitcher from the stand's lower shelf into the basin. "Your name is Orihime Inoue?"

She nodded, nerves edging. "Yes."

He turned her and moved her hair to one side of her shoulder, as he'd done early in their trip from Nnoitra's residence. She'd wondered why at the time, but hadn't asked, and over the course of the ride she'd been glad he had as the reason became evident.

He pushed the few auburn strands of hair from her back where they'd gotten caught between his chest and the black vest, sticking with drying blood from his injury. She turned around to face him, eyes on his white shirt dark with blood.

"I can wrap this," she said, her hand moving to the shirt. "If you want me to, Captain."

"You might want her to," Cat said from the open doorway. "Doc's under the barrel."

Grimmjow turned to the first mate. "Damn him. How drunk, Cat?"

The first mate shrugged. "Little fresh water since we threw it overboard for shallowing the draft, Captain."

Grimmjow nodded. "Anything left of supper? See what cook's got. And send Brigger in with drinking water."

Cat was looking at the loop of chain dangling from Orihime's wrist. "Aye, Captain. Uh, Smithy's drunk, too."

Grimmjow looked back to the chains at Orihime's wrists. "That can wait until tomorrow. Send in Briggger and the water and whatever supper Cook's got."

"I think it's just bread. Aye." Cat disappeared from the doorway.

Grimmjow's hand closed over the cuff at Orihime's wrist, her skin scrapped raw from trying to pull her hand through the metal band. He turned her hand over palm up, and then reached for the other one. "How long were you with him?"

She shook her head. "A few hours. Oh, a little over a day on the _Bleeding Sister_."

He wound the chain of one cuff around his hand and twisted it, holding the cuff in his other hand. The chain links kinked and bound up, resisting his attempt to loosen the weakest of them. The action gave Orihime a closer look at his chest, the injury nearly eyelevel with her.

His skin was severed from pectoral to lower opposite rib, most of it no longer bleeding from where her back had acted as pressure against it during the long ride. She saw no bone in the injury as Grimmjow strained at the chain links, fierce grip on the metal meeting stubborn opposition. "Let me tend your injury, Captain."

"You're without your bag," he said tightly, grinning as a link separated under his efforts. He forced it open enough to broaden the links.

"Oh, yes, but I can still close the wound," she said, thinking furiously at her medical equipment. "I can do that much."

He nodded, slipping the chain from the cuff at her wrist. He turned his attention to the second cuff at her still bound wrist. "All you need is needle and thread?"

"Yes. It's what your ship's surgeon would do anyway," she said, pulling her still shackled arm closer to herself as his hand closed around the chain there.

He looked at her sharply.

"It can wait," she said carefully, hoping not to irk his temper. "I can work with one hand free."

His hand paused on her wrist, thumb near but not touching a deep scrape from the cuff. "You have a remarkable ability with injuries."

Her eyes went to his left arm, nodding. "Not all injuries, Captain."

He took one of the cloths from the washstand handle and put it in her hand. "Wash your face and arms."

She nodded and turned to the washstand as he stepped away. In the small mirror over the basin she could see him go to the doorway behind her and take a jug and cloth bag from a set of small hands that reached the items into the room.

He spoke more to someone she didn't see, and Orihime took a few moments to wash her face. Her image in the flickering candlelight of the mirror surprised her, smudged with dirt at her chin and faint bloodstains at her neck and temple from her wrists. She dipped the cloth in the water and scrubbed her face, the loose chain rattling against the stand. She washed her neck, under her hair, feeling the vest catch at her movements as it stuck to her back. She quickly washed her wrists, the water stinging the abrasions and scrapes.

In the mirror she saw Grimmjow appear behind her, his eyes on what she knew to be where his blood had dried the vest to her back.

He held a large bundle of delft blue material before her. "Take your arms out and hold that on yourself."

She didn't ask what he meant and was relieved when he went back to the small table behind her at the other wall with the jug and sack. She fought back her qualms about removing the vest and untied the knot between her breasts. She saw his back to her across the room, and took a moment to slip one arm out of the vest, feeling it pull at her back as the black material stuck. She pulled the blue shirt to her chest, trying to finagle her other arm out of the large sleeve opening. She held the shirt closer to herself as Grimmjow took the vest edge at her shoulder.

"How did Nnoitra get you?"

She pressed the shirt over herself firmer with one arm as he pulled her other arm free through the vest opening, the back still sticking. "We were on the island Captain Ulquiorra stopped at to get medicinal plants and he found us."

"Captain _Ulquiorra_?" he said, peeling the vest from her back.

"He told me to call him that." Her eyes went to the mirror as the vest stripped from her skin, leaving it itching.

He reached for the cloth in front of her at the basin and dipped it into the water, squeezing the excess out. "You knew Captain Ulquiorra that well?"

"No." She held her breath as he washed the bloodstains from her back, bracing her feet at the effort that nearly knocked her into the washstand.

"Who was with you?" He moved her hair to one side at her shoulder, the wet cloth passing over the dried stains at her spine. "Loly and Menoly?"

Her eyes shot to his in the mirror. "Yes. You knew?"

He coughed a little, grimacing at the pain resurfacing along the injury. "They're not to be trusted. They set you up for Nnoitra?"

Orihime wasn't sure, but she thought so. "I believe they did."

The cloth rubbed harder on her shoulder blade where a thicker streak of blood had gathered. He moved the few strands of hair that fell across her back, his left hand resting on the side of her neck as the wet cloth moved to her lower back, eyes on where the curve of her hip kept the torn skirt of the dress at her waist.

It wasn't his fight to kill Nnoitra, as Grimmjow had told her -- that was Halibel's right -- but in those few brief moments of the bedroom where he'd found Orihime chained to the wall above the bed he knew he'd have let the sharp side of his sword blade sever Nnoitra's head from his neck had the bloodstains on the mattress come from anything other than the girl's feet.

He looked at her pensive face in the mirror, her reflection showing both fear and relief as the cloth washed the last of reddish-brown from her back. "Did you eat aboard the _Bleeding Sister_?"

She nodded, watching his fingers move her hair from her shoulder to hang at her back. "A woman named Nel gave me an apple and some bread."

"Nel." He put the cloth on the basin's side at the stand, eyes on his shirt she held to her chest. "Hold on."

He grabbed her waistband with one hand and with a swift yank tore the remaining ripped bodice from the side of her dress where the top part hung ragged from Nnoitra's knife. Orihime caught her breath and hugged the blue shirt closer, muting her mumbles as he separated the material. He nodded to the bed a few feet away. "Put that on."

Orihime stepped away and turned her back to him, her back still damp but clean. She didn't waver as she pulled on the large shirt, adjusting it at her waist as well as she could, leaving it hanging loose.

She turned to see he'd removed the stained white shirt and was examining the diagonal slash as his chest. "Do you have needle and thread I could use, Captain?"

It took a few minutes for Grimmjow to locate the spool of gray thread and a passable needle in the sea chest at the foot of the bed. In that time he poured her two mugs of water, which she drank in a few gulps, but passed on the bread he offered from the pouch at the table.

"I want to close that first," she said, eyes on the laceration at his chest that was starting to timidly bleed again. There was a sudden shift of the ship as it left the dock and turned to sea. Orihime's eyes went to a window, seeing only the dark skies out it. She looked back to Grimmjow. "You should lie down, Captain Jaegerjaquez."

Instead he went to the table took the bread cap from the pouch and pushed it into her hands. "You should eat that first. Then you can sew."

She looked down at the rye bread, finding it devoid of worms. She took a small bite, just enough to quell her cramping stomach, she told herself.

Grimmjow lit a candle lantern on the small stand near the bed. "Did Nnoitra tell you what he wanted, aside from his usual intentions?"

She choked on the dryness of the bread, shaking her head as he looked to her. "No, Captain, but he kept mentioning Officer Szayel."

He nodded. "They're a dangerous pair, Nnoitra and Szayel." He went to a cupboard and retrieved a dark bottle and ceramic cup. He poured it full from the bottle and handed it to her. "You'll need it soon, when your nerves get the better of you," he said when she started to protest. "Drink it."

Orihime took it, a strong fruity molasses smell coming from it. She took a larger bite of bread, watching him sort through one of the built-in closets in the wall and withdraw a tan shirt.

"You dissolved your engagement to Kurosaki quick enough," he said, draping the shirt on the bed stand. His gaze went over her figure now lost in the oversized shirt and skirt. "Were you that eager to join Aizen?"

She stopped chewing, shock claiming her face. "No, Captain Jaegerjaquez. I didn't want to at all, but I thought it wisest to --"

"You don't think Aizen will hold to his promise of sparing Karakura, do you?"

Her gaze fell to his chest, watching the slight trickle of red seep from the lowest end of the wound. "I hoped he would. I don't know anything about him, only what rumors I've heard from the woad traders in town."

He nodded, reaching for the dark amber bottle from which he'd poured her ceramic cup full. "He's a liar and a mongrel who'll use any means at his disposal to gain the throne of Hueco Mundo. Don't think for a moment he'll spare you or your town if can further his goal, Orihime. You've sold yourself too short."

She frowned at the piece of bread. "It's all I could do, Captain. I didn't think Captain Schiffer would spare my friend from his first mate if I didn't agree."

He nodded, taking a long drink from the bottle. "You have a very lucky friend."

Her eyes rose to his. "She'd do the same for me."

"Will Kurosaki give you up without a fight?"

She frowned, the question calling up more answers than she thought possible. "Yes."

He chuckled, and then swore and put a hand to his chest as the movement caused a flame of pain along the cut. "Then he's a fool."

"Ichigo is not a fool." She bit her lip, losing interest in the bread as she looked to his injury demanding attention. "Please lie down, Captain."

He took another drink from the bottle and gestured to the ceramic cup she held. "Finish half of that first."

She looked at the dark liquid that winked back at her in the lamp's light. "I don't need this, Captain."

"You'll think differently later."

The words made a twinge of fear run through her, but when she looked to him there was no malevolence in his face. She nodded and sipped the drink, coughing at the scorching sharpness.

He chuckled, hand pressing to his chest as he put the bottle on the stand by the bed and sat down. He found a small bottle and set it on the stand and then went to the washstand and dumped the water out an open window. "Not much of a drinker, are you?"

She shook her head, taking a deep breath. He set the bowl on the stand by the bed and poured in fresh water from the pitcher and put a few clean rolls of cloth beside it with the needle and thread. She waited for him to lie down, fingers tightening on the cup of brandy.

Grimmjow watched her for a moment, the chain dangling from one wrist as she held the cup. "Why don't you want to marry Kurosaki?"

Her eyes darted to the bowl and cloth at the stand, sighing against answering. "He's a good man, Ichigo is, but not for me." She stepped closer to the bedside and put the cup on the stand. She looked back to him, watching him slowly lie down on the mattress. With a few misgivings she sat beside him, settling the chain of her left wrist between them out of her way to work.

"Why not for you?"

She frowned as she took the cloth and wettened it in the bowl and squeezed the water out. "It was an arrangement made between my brother and the elder Kurosaki."

A mumbled curse escaped him and her hands paused as they moved to the open injury. "Isshin Kurosaki."

She nodded, testily wiping the diluted bloodstains from his chest, nearing the edges of the severed skin.

"They're a wealthy family, Orihime," he said, feeling her fingers gradually move to the more tender sides of flesh. "That's got to look attractive to a weaver's apprentice."

"His heart lies with another." Her voice was lacking in any disappointment, something that didn't escape Grimmjow. She washed the area around the wound and rinsed the cloth.

"Not with you?"

She shook her head, her hands more steady than she thought they'd be as she threaded the needle.

"Someone you know?"

She nodded. "A good friend to both of us."

The wound had stretched wide from the long horseback ride, but Orihime's back pressed to Grimmjow's chest had helped add pressure to stop most of the severe bleeding. She looked to him as she prepared to begin the first stitch.

"Don't you dare ask for permission," he said, the humor in his eyes making her smile a little.

"Okay."

She made the first stitch, wiping at the thin trail of water and blood that began at the end of the wound.

He'd never asked the question before of any woman, but Grimmjow wanted to know this time. "Where does your heart lie, if not with Kurosaki?"

She shook her head, making the next stitch. "Nowhere."

"With no one?"

She held his gaze steadily as she tied off the stitch. "My heart hasn't been available until recently, Captain."

He sighed, closing his eyes to the lamp's low light, the day's weariness and injury catching up with him. Her fingers were gentle on his chest, soft movements as she worked, the pokes of the needle lost in the throb of pain from the laceration. His eyes flicked open as her hand went to his brow.

Orihime swallowed quickly, in her fingers the single strand of blue hair she'd deftly collected. "You have no fever," she said by way of explanation. "A little warm, but no fever. That's good."

He nodded, sighing. "No one on the horizon?"

She shook her head, a faint blush crossing her cheeks as she lowered her hands to run the blue hair along the thread as his eyes stayed on her face. "I haven't thought about it much."

His eyes closed, oblivious to her fingers nimbly adding the strand of hair to the stitch she was making on his chest. "Perhaps you should, before giving yourself away so easily to a bastard like Aizen."

She sighed, nodding subtly as she continued her work. His forehead had been warm, too warm but not quite a fever, and she hoped the wound was not infected. Nnoitra didn't look like he kept a clean sword blade, in her opinion. She'd done a dozen stitches, and was moving to the wider, deeper part of the wound, and she decided a thorough cleaning with the sterilizing alcohol from the smaller bottle was in order.

"I'm going to apply the ..." her words trailed off as his large hand gripped her skirt tight in his fingers. She looked to his face to find him sleeping. For a moment she watched, a frown still on his features as he snored lowly. "Captain," she said, and then bending closer to him said again, "Captain Jaegerjaquez?"

Grimmjow made no response, hold locked on her skirt.

She sighed, smiling a little, and then took a second cloth and small bottle of alcohol. There was no reaction from him as she dabbed the antiseptic along the open wound, not even a flinch. Orihime worked quickly, closing the injury in minutes, adding a second strand of her own hair and his toward the last end of the long cut.

He didn't notice when she finished, washing again the bit of blood that trickled at the lowermost edge of the wound. Nor did he notice when her fingers went back to his hair.

This time it wasn't a professional touch that moved her hand, and she chided herself at the twinge of guilt running through her as a soft lock of blue hair caught in her fingers. She was supposed to pay attention to a patient's hair, she told herself; her grandmother had been insistent on it. Tatsuki thought she had some sort of fetish, always noticing hair color.

_Tatsuki should talk,_ Orihime thought. _She_ was the one who'd made a courtship with a seaman with the reddest hair Orihime had ever seen on man or woman.

She pulled her hand away as Grimmjow's fingers moved, taking a larger handful of her skirt. She moved the chain away from his side. It was far too warm for bedclothes, but she wanted to cover the injury even if she couldn't wrap it. She reached across him and pulled the top of the blanket over him, taking a long moment to settle it around him needlessly.

An ache caught her back, part horseback ride and part from her struggle with the chain nailed to the bedroom wall. She moved to sit against the side of the bed on the floor, blushing as Grimmjow's hand kept part of her skirt lifted, thankful her chemise skirt was still intact.

She took the half full cup of brandy from the stand and finished it, hoping to block out the day and some of the night's events.

But only some of the night.

* * *

**Authors' Note:** _Thanks so much for reading and for all the reviews!_


	10. Chapter 10

Ulquiorra had spent the preceding afternoon getting all the information he could out of Loly and Menoly, which was disappointingly little. The two small crewmen stuck to their story of losing Orihime in the thick forest while looking for medicinal herbs. Ulquiorra had asked them pointedly and repeatedly.

They insisted the girl had wandered off. That was it. Orihime didn't respond to any calling, and after a while it became evident to both Loly and Menoly that Orihime didn't want to be found, or couldn't respond.

Ulquiorra's stern look shifted between the young women on the deck of the _Midori_ under the parching hot sun, the words thick in his mouth for lack of drinking water, one of the necessities they'd jettisoned overboard to draft the high shoals that morning in pursuit of what he'd heard to be Orihime's possible abductor.

"You're sure it was Captain Jaegerjaquez's ship?" he asked for the fifth time.

Loly and Menoly nodded in unison as adamantly as they had the first time when questioned.

"Did you see Captain Jaegerjaquez at all?"

"No, Captain Schiffer," they said immediately.

Ulquiorra looked to Loly, the day's heat beginning to wear on everyone onboard. He wasn't a man to lean to a relaxed attitude in his office, but even his collar was open to the waist and his coat discarded. He saw Menoly glimpse to the island they'd spotted an hour ago where the _Bleeding Sister_ was docked in the small village port, tilted to expose more of her hull for repairs.

"You're sure it wasn't the _Bleeding Sister_ you saw?"

Menoly nodded fervently, appearing nearly excited to answer. "We did not see the _Bleeding Sister_, Captain. It was _The Pantera_. No flags flying, but it was _The Pantera_. I'm sure of it."

Ulquiorra looked to the crew. Most had lost interest in his repeated inquest of the two girls and had made themselves busy among affairs of the deck and watching for sand bars, but a few were watching the girls closely.

"You want us to put into port and inquire of Captain Jiruga?" Yammy asked, cracking his large knuckles as he glowered at the girls.

"No, we'd never dock without being sanded," Ulquiorra said, watching Loly's hand twist nervously on her tanto hilt. "Did you see Captain Jaegerjaquez at all?"

Both girls shook their heads, eyes widening at him.

Ulquiorra turned his back on them and went to the _Midori's_ rail, eyes scrutinizing the dock where the _Bleeding Sister_ was under repair. He'd watched the reaction to Grimmjow's first sight of Orihime -- so distracted that he'd nearly lost an arm to Tousen -- and he'd seen the look in Grimmjow's face when she'd tended his arm. Not the usual lethalness he'd seen on the fellow pirate, something that had kept Grimmjow's normally vulgar tongue in check, no small feat in itself. The girl was plenty ripe for comments of all sorts, from her gullible and vulnerable presence on a pirate ship to the shapely shadow she cast on the deck boards, the girl was an easy target for a number of lewd comments.

Yet Grimmjow had made none, nor taken an opportunistic grope during the few times Orihime had inadvertently left herself open to physical contact as she bandaged his arm. It had at first impressed Ulquiorra, and then made him warily wonder, but now, with the girl's disappearance and Grimmjow's name coming up from Loly and Menoly, Ulquiorra was of the mind that the blue-haired captain had simply bided his time for a better moment.

Ulquiorra's attention went back to the young women still awaiting his orders or dismissal. Whether Grimmjow's interest in the girl was for a sense of vengeance against the Kurosaki family or something purely physical was not Ulquiorra's problem. Not entirely.

That Orihime Inoue had been absconded, however, _was_ his problem. So were the relative few passages through the shallower waterways that would make following _The Pantera_ extremely difficult.

Orihime Inoue belonged on the _Midori_. Aizen had ordered it.

That was what Ulquiorra had to set right.

* * *

Grimmjow awoke early the next morning to a throbbing pain lacing his chest. It was sharpest when he inhaled, not quite constricting, but a definite handicap to movement. He opened his eyes to see the dark wooden beams crossing the ceiling of _The Pantera's_ cabin, his vision adjusting slowly to the low light of morning.

The pain that ebbed in his chest with his breathing wasn't the only new feeling to his senses. He looked down to where his left arm had fallen to the side of the bed to see Orihime's auburn hair draped at his shoulder. Her head was cradled against his arm, his hand still clenched in a fistful of skirt across her hip, her breathing on his skin warm.

He chuckled at first, then stopped with a mumbled curse as the effort brought on an increase in pain at his chest. She slept on, right arm crooked over his that held her skirt, the chain at her wrist making imprints on the skin between both their arms. He held his breath and reached his other arm over to brush the hair away from her face. For a moment the serene glimpse of her simple beauty arrested his thoughts, a rare few seconds of pause that made Grimmjow's mind wander, until she jerked her head up with a start.

All that fiery auburn hair did little soften the jarring impact of her head under his chin, sending his teeth rattling as she turned her face to his.

"Damn, girl," he grumbled as she looked to him, sleepy eyes unfocused. When she stared at him with blankness he held his breath against the pain at his chest and shifted positions to swing his legs over the side of the mattress, pulling her into a more upright position. "Come up here and sleep."

She remained unmoving of her own power, following his suggestion only because he lifted her to her knees as her mind was still mired in the fog of sleep. She blinked at the pillow and then at him.

"It's early. Go back to sleep, Orihime."

She nodded and crawled gracelessly into the bed, making him dodge another knock to his chin, seeming oblivious to him as she settled onto the spot on the mattress still warm from where he'd lain. She burrowed into the pillow and pulled the blanket to her chin as her eyes closed.

Grimmjow unhanded the skirt that was now twisted around her, slipping his arm from her waist. He stood up and took a testy breath, the skin at his chest bruised and sore along the row of stitches that she'd made after he'd fallen asleep. It was a neat line of stitching that pulled the skin edges snug, the flesh already knitting in recovery along the dark bruising that had spread. He'd survived enough serious injuries to know the healing process was ahead of its usual progress, again making him wonder at the girl's unique abilities. She certainly didn't seem like a witch to him.

His eyes went over the shape her body made beneath the blanket, thoughts of the preceding night coming back stronger as bells were called out on deck above.

He forced his attention away from the sleeping girl and went to the window by the wash stand and slid open the half-closed shutter to see the gray-blue of the morning seas. No land was in sight, and he didn't expect to see any. If they were on course the first land would be on the opposite side of the ship, but he wasn't looking for that. Out the window was the deeper water, the most likely seas to find the _Midori_.

There was no ship. He grinned despite the pain at his chest. But he knew it was only a matter of time before the _Midori_ would become a threat.

Grimmjow went to the chest-on-chest across the room near the bed and found a clean shirt in a drawer, his movements stiff as the wound at his chest insisted on limited actions. He glanced to the bed as he buttoned a few of the buttons over the injury. Orihime slept on, face buried in the pillow away from his view, her breathing rising and falling beneath the blanket. He turned his thoughts from her and the dilemma arising from her presence on his ship and went on deck to find Cat.

The first mate was on lookout at the bow, most crewmen still in the forecastle, a few milling about the deck to begin a leisure day of mending ropes and sails, some still below, inebriated from the lack of fresh water available to them and going heavy on the triple-rationed ale at their disposal.

It was as good excuse as any to get drunk, and Grimmjow knew it. He also knew his better fighters weren't drunk; in his opinion, the smarter ones. He growled at the thought. The ones given to easy liquor would straggle topside by noon. None of which Halibel had taken, he'd noticed. As if the woman had a second-nature inkling as to which were his best men in battle.

"I see you're sewn up, Captain," Cat greeted as Grimmjow joined him in looking out over the waters beginning to take color under the rising sun.

Grimmjow nodded. "Doc sober yet?"

Cat chuckled. "Not likely."

The flap of half-filled sails was joined by a more rapid sound of wet material fluttering in the wind. Grimmjow looked to the maroon dress that hung from a rope, most of the seawater remaining in it weighted at the skirt's hem.

"Where's the rest?"

"Still in the hamper, captain." Cat gave a leering grin. "Didn't want too many frillies hanging around. What do you want done with them?"

"Have Brigger take them to my cabin." Grimmjow looked around for his club-handed cabin boy. "Where is that kid?"

Cat laughed, pointing to a row of barrels against the quarterdeck. "First real taste of brandy."

Grimmjow shook his head at the slumping boy whose deformed hand still had a tight grip on an empty bottle. "He drank that whole thing?"

Cat shook his head. "Mostly water, Captain. He's a lightweight."

Before them the largest of the Swan Islands rose in slopes of tall trees that were largely home to small ponds with a flourishing swan population. Of the many inlets where a ship could drop anchor Grimmjow wanted the most isolated, located on the other side of the island, a shallow waterway that would keep the _Midori_ at bay, but not the _Bleeding Sister_.

"Is she worth five ships, Captain?"

Grimmjow made an easy shrug, the tight skin at his chest pulling at every stitch as he ignored the pain. "To Aizen? I'd think so. She's a demonstration at what a kind fellow he can be to the towns that bow to him. Something that stands out to Yamamoto when compared to our other visits." His hands closed over the rail as he leaned on it, eyes searching the island's shore for signs of any other recent ships. "As for our cooperation in gaining the king's treasure, I'm not sure, Cat."

"Is she worth five ships to _you_?"

He looked sharply at him as the first mate chuckled. "She'd be handy in stitching you up after a battle."

Grimmjow nodded, grinning as he looked back to the island as it skirted a sandbar. "That she would."

** ** **

Orihime awoke a few hours later as the sun stretched warm across the bed to her face. For a moment she laid still, eyes opening to the few seagulls that were flying past the window where the rolled reed blinds rattled under the soft breeze drifting into the room, the shutters wide open. She frowned, content in her burrow of blanket and pillow as her mind cleared and pieced together her last memories of the night before.

She sat up suddenly, making her slight headache shift, the large blue shirt falling around her off kilter and slipping to bare one shoulder. She snapped it back up, pulling the blanket higher around her as she looked wide-eyed around the room. It was a moderately clean cabin, airy in the bright morning sun, divided from the front office by a door that was open into the room and a floor-length curtain that was pulled most of the way shut. The fireplace across from the bed was shared by the first room, the hearth empty of wood and ashes, an iron grate lifted above and locked into place. Through it she could see only the floor of the office, and hear no sounds. To one wall was a small table and two chairs, to the opposite the tall chest-on-chest bolted to the wall. Most of the walls consisted of cupboards built into the ship's frame. From the deck above she heard indistinguishable voices in casual conversation.

Her feet were sore from her desperate flight through the night yard, and a few spots itched, but nothing like her wrists. She pushed the blanket down when she was confident she was alone and looked at the cuffs and chain still attached to one of her wrists. The skin was scraped and still raw, sticking to the sleeves drooping over her hands. She tentatively rubbed one, grimacing at the reddened irritation that was still raw.

"You're awake," Grimmjow said from the doorway, startling her. In one hand was a saw, in the other a clay jug.

Orihime yelped and gathered the blankets to her chest.

He chuckled and shook his head as he set the jug of water on the small table near the window. He looked back to her, watching her legs move under the blanket. "Get up and we'll get those chains off you, Orihime."

She combed a few fingers through her mussed hair, eyes going to the diagonal wound at his chest she could see at his half open shirt. "I should wrap your injury first, Captain Jaegerjaquez."

"After we get you out of that shackle."

Under his study she got out of bed and straightened the skirt and chemise around her better, fighting with the large shirt that kept slipping to one shoulder despite her having fastened all the closures. Her feet were inflexible and sore, but she made them work, muting her groans. She sat at the table as he instructed, watching warily as he took the other chair beside her and pulled her arm under his, locking her elbow to his side.

"How do you feel, Captain?" she asked timidly, looking around his arm as he anchored her chained wrist in one hand.

"Better than I should, I know that," he said with grunt, angling the blade of the fine-toothed saw over the metal trapping her wrist.

She tried not to wince as the blade grated against the metal, feeling the band vibrate against her skin as the blade sawed dangerously close to her hand. Her fingers curled against her will, as far away from the sharp metal teeth as she could pull them.

"Hold still," he said, not breaking the sawing motion.

"Yes, Captain."

She watched as long as she could, and then turned her head away, hoping to trust him not to accidentally shear off a finger.

"Are you a sorceress?"

She shook her head, hair bumping against his shoulder. "No. It's just a lost healing art." It wasn't entirely true, but not exactly false, she determined.

"Something you can't teach."

It wasn't a question, but Orihime nodded without conviction.

"We're taking on fresh water when we go ashore round the island," he said, gritting his teeth at the new pain shooting through his chest inflicted by the sawing action. "You're going ashore with us, but stay close."

She nodded, eyes resting on the thick scar running the length of his jaw. She knew enough about scars to know it was old and deep. The skin was smooth, barely maligned, and she figured someone who knew what they were doing had sewn it. Her eyes lifted to see his attention on her, the blade on the metal slowing.

She averted her eyes as he looked away, and breathed easier when a moment later the blade broke through the last thin spot of the metal cuff, her skin untouched by it. Grimmjow pried open the band and dropped it and the chain on the floor. For a moment he rubbed the fine metal dust from her reddened skin, turning her wrist over to inspect the abrasions there.

"Thank you," she said as he released the arm and reached for her other wrist.

"Nnoitra's a problem even Aizen shouldn't enlist in his foolish cause," he grumbled, pulling her arm across his knee to work on the other cuff.

It was an awkward position that brought Orihime closer to his side, turning at the waist as her newly freed hand rested behind him on the table. She tried to choose her words cautiously. "You don't believe in Captain Aizen's mission?"

"I don't believe Aizen should be king of Hueco Mundo, no," he said without apology. He pulled the long shirt sleeve back from the metal cuff, setting the saw blade atop the thinnest spot. He watched her hand flatten against his knee in an attempt to get as far away from the blade as possible. "He's a bastard and has no claim to the throne. One failed attempt after another," he said, beginning to saw at the band. "He'll fail with this, too. Doesn't matter how many ships he recruits, how many maidens he steals, King Yamamoto won't part with the treasure. No amount of smoke and mirrors is going to put that damn crown on Aizen's head."

Orihime wasn't sure what to say to that. She'd seen his defiant attitude to Aizen on the _Midori_, but she didn't know it extended to the Aizen's effort as well. "Then why do you sail for him?"

"Because I owe him. Every pirate under his damn flag owes him something."

The sawing motion made the twist at her waist force a few squeaks from her until she relented and let her forehead rest at his shoulder, the bracing contact easing the torque.

She closed her eyes against the sawing, feeling guilty, resisting the smile that wanted to form at her lips at the smell of the sea about Grimmjow. She hadn't known the scent of the sea until she'd been on the _Midori_ those few days, but now it was becoming familiar. It smelled different on Grimmjow than when she stood on the deck of the _Midori_.

The metal gave way and she pulled her head away to see him removing the cuff from her wrist. He was about to speak when a boy appeared at the open doorway.

He cleared his throat, eyes fastened on Orihime with open curiosity.

"You going to speak or just ogle her, Brigger?" Grimmjow asked him.

The boy nodded, and then shook his head, a wad of dark red material bundled in his arm, the wet reed hamper of clothing dragged by his other hand. "We're readying to go ashore, Captain," he said. "Cook's wanting to send up breakfast."

"Have it sent. We'll put ashore after she eats."

Orihime looked from the boy to Grimmjow. "I can wait until --"

"Don't be silly," he growled, standing and waving away the boy who was hiding his deformed hand beneath the material. "Leave the dress on the door and bring her plate."

"Aye, Captain." Brigger draped the dress over the door edge and deposited the hamper beside the fireplace hearth before disappearing back into the office.

Orihime rubbed her tender wrists, watching Grimmjow go to the hamper and open it.

"Most of this is still wet. Hang it up to dry. Whatever you want to keep to wear," he said, opening the reed lid. Inside was a matted bundle of clothing. He looked to her, eyeing her figure eclipsed in the shirt. "Should fit you passably well."

"Women's clothing?" she asked, standing mostly on one foot to ease the pain spiking through her other foot as she rubbed her itchy wrists.

He nodded and went to the chest at the end of the bed and opened it. He sorted through it for a moment, finding a ball of wound bandages.

"Can you treat yourself?" he asked when she stood and joined him at the chest. He glanced to her bare feet. "I don't know that there're any shoes with the clothing."

"Yes, a little," she said with a nod, eyes on the long cotton bandages. There was little real need for bandaging most of her work unless the injury needed support while healing, but she'd learned that the formality helped camouflage the speed at which her methods worked, something that was best left to a surprised recovery rather than the patient watching the process.

"Even without your bag of remedies?" He closed the chest lid, offering her the roll of bandages.

She took the cotton, nodding. "But it's a slower process." She unwound a length of bandage, looking to him with a slight blush. "You'll have to remove your shirt so I can bandage your chest, Captain."

Grimmjow unfastened the few buttons and pulled the shirt off, dropping it onto the chest. "How'd you learn such techniques?"

She bit her lip, busying herself unraveling more bandage. "It's been a family tradition for a long time." She waited for him to raise his arms, eyes on the stitches that were sewn with the few hairs from each of them, pleased to see they weren't infected and beginning to knit the skin together. She felt the warmth hit her cheeks more as she reached around him with both arms, the bandage in one hand to grasp with the other, trying not to touch him, but failing as the blue of her borrowed shirt brushed his chest. "But I'm not a witch," she added, mostly to have something else to say.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. His voice was in her ear as she brought both ends of the bandage to the front and crossed them along the injury to make another pass. "We've been accused of all sorts of trickery, but it's nothing like sorcery."

"You've not been run out of town?"

She shook her head, not meeting his eyes as she passed the bandage around him repeatedly, pulling the cotton snug but not too tightly, flattening the material as she went until it covered the long injury effectively. "Townsfolk refuse to accept what they don't understand," she said, repeating what her grandmother had told her, leaving out that even her own parents were among those resisters, her mother partly out of jealousy. "But once they accept it, then they're willing to share in the benefits of the art."

She pulled the ends to the lower side of his ribs opposite the injured area and tied it, ripping off the excess length of bandage. She carefully smoothed the cotton over the injury with her hand, turning the few spots that had flipped at edges so they created no pressure points.

A call went up from the deck and he looked to the doorway momentarily, and then back to her. He watched the blush fade over her cheeks, grinning a little when the pink flamed brighter when she looked to him.

"We're going ashore." He nodded to the dress Brigger had left on the door. "Get changed."

She looked to the maroon material. "Yes, Captain Jaegerjaquez."

"It's Grimmjow," he decided for her, pulling on his shirt again.

She nodded, feeling her cheeks heat another degree. "Captain Grimmjow."

"No. Just Grimmjow, Orihime."

Another few notches of heat. "Yes. Grimmjow."

"Better."

** ** **

The first Swan Island was accessed by a sandy beach strewn with peach-pink pebbles and softly rounded boulders. The two longboats that beached were emptied of pirates and Orihime, and most set off to replenish the water supplies and find what other food sources the island had to offer.

Orihime found herself under Grimmjow's lead to an inland pool of fresh water deeper in the island, the palm and wisteria trees shrouding the small water spot among the rushes and reeds. She followed nervously, her feet wrapped in bandages in the absence of any footwear, picking her steps quickly to keep up with Grimmjow's longer strides.

Around them the calls of insects and birds halted at their presence, a few chattering monkeys out of sight admonishing them for their intrusion.

Grimmjow stopped them after half an hour of walking and nodded to the small pool hidden among the boulders and tall grass and ferns. "You can bathe there," he said, eyes dropping over the maroon dress she'd donned while it was still damp. "Wash the Nnoitra off of you."

"Oh, yes, that would be good," she breathed in relief.

"I'll be back soon."

He left her at the side of the pool by a large smooth boulder and went back the way they'd come. She watched him go only a few yards, and then frowned as he stopped at a patch of tall ferns near a collection of smaller, waist-high boulders. He glanced back at her and then sat down on one of the rocks, turning his back to her.

She took a deep breath and made her way through the grass and ferns to the water's edge. The pool of water was the runoff of a small fountain that emptied from near a larger patch of boulders on the opposite side of the pool, the water warm when she crouched and put her fingers to it. She smiled, the water rippling and winking at her in the early afternoon sun that flickered between the tree tops. She could see the sandy floor of the pool, the water clear and inviting. The rise of insects and birds calling returned again.

She stood behind the largest of the boulders and took off the damp dress and flung the maroon material over the stone's warm surface. There was little left of her chemise with the pearl beaded hem. The bodice had been torn off by Grimmjow the night before, and the hem was newly frayed from her run through the night in the sharp grass. She removed it and washed it quickly at the water's edge, feeling conspicuous in her unclothed state among the wildlife. She hastily hung it over the rock beside the dress and waded into the water, anticipating a much needed bath after Nnoitra's advances.

The water was warm yet refreshing after the confines in the _Bleeding Sister's_ hull and her capture by its captain. She let herself wade deep into it, relishing the soft sand that gave beneath her sore feet. She didn't go far enough to see how deep the pool was, but let herself submerge completely, her hair floating around her at the water's surface as she exhaled bubbles. When she stood up again she let her knees bend enough to keep her modestly beneath the water as she washed her face, her back to her clothes and where she knew Grimmjow to be.

Last night it was enough that he'd shown up at Nnoitra's secluded house in time to save her from her attacker, but now, in the light of the hot day and with a belly full of what had been a very filling and tasty breakfast of pork and water chestnuts, Orihime wondered what his plans were for her. She had a hundred questions to ask him, none of which she'd considered appropriate yet to voice. She'd eaten alone in the cabin after hanging up a few articles of clothing from the reed hamper.

She was happy the dress had fit her. Sometimes ready-made clothing from street vendors didn't fit her full shape, but the maroon dress was abundant in the chest area. It was a little discolored in spots from the salt water, and the rest of the clothes from the hamper didn't look like they were something Grimmjow had kept from another woman aboard his ship. No woman would let her clothes be kept dampened by seawater.

Her mind ran through several scenarios as to an explanation as she let her hair fall back and weight with water, each of her explanations growing in ridiculousness until she recalled Nel's protests to Nnoitra throwing overboard clothes to lighten the _Bleeding Sister_.

"That could be it," she murmured aloud as she washed her hair in a cooler spot of the water, hearing the birds squawking louder from the trees fringing the pool. "I'll bet that's it."

A sudden shriek from a monkey made Orihime flinch and nearly pop out of the water. The monkey's outburst was followed by another, deeper bellow. She turned, and then sunk deeper into the water as Grimmjow stood at the boulder where her clothes had been draped.

"Get out of here, you mangy critter!" he shouted, one hand pulling on the chemise skirt that a spindly monkey was tugging away. With a quick yank Grimmjow ripped the white skirt from the animal as it screeched menacingly at him. He made a lunge at it, and the monkey ran off, chattering and waving a hand behind it.

Orihime dropped deeper into the water until it lapped at her chin, wiping her wet hair from her face as Grimmjow looked to her. For a moment he returned her attention, and then put the skirt beside the dress on the boulder.

"We're leaving now," he called across the small pool as she nodded. "Hurry up."

She nodded, waiting until he'd rounded the boulder before venturing to shore.

She paused halfway there, watching for signs of his return. There were none, and she hastened out and to the boulder's edge to quickly dress. She'd barely got the dress's drawstring corset laced at her chest than his voice came from behind the rock.

"How bad are your feet?" he asked as he appeared around the rock as she leaned against it to wrap her pickled and soft soles with the long strips of cloth.

"They feel better after the water." She swiftly wound the cloth around the second foot.

He watched the angle of her foot as she tied off the last bit of cloth, her slender ankles scratched from the sharp grass. "Why can't you heal yourself, Orihime?"

She set her foot on the ground and straightened the skirt. "It doesn't work as well. I don't know why."

He nodded, watching her pull the clumps of tangles out of her hair. "Well, you fill out Captain Halibel's dress all right." He grinned at the slight blush surfacing at her cheeks. "That came off the _Bleeding Sister_."

She smiled a little. "I thought so. They threw everything overboard."

"Come on."

She followed him until they'd reached the rise of the slope where the island topped highest, a modest hill that was sparsely treed, admitting a view of most of the island and waterways around it. A few other islands dotted the shallow sea, sandbars showing lighter near the water's surface.

Grimmjow stopped as the view of the waterways became clearer, eyes narrowing on a spec that had just entered the farthest canal of one of the outlying islands. "Hold here," he said, a hand on Orihime's shoulder as she followed his stare.

Her first thought was of Nnoitra, but as she watched the small spec move slowly among the shallow water the ship became recognizable.

"Captain Ulquiorra," she said, eyes searching the distance for more identification. "Is it the _Midori_?"

He glanced at her rapt attention on the slow moving dot. "Do you want it to be Schiffer?"

She realized her mistake of the informal reference. "I made an agreement with Captain Aizen and he put me aboard the _Midori_, Captain Jaegerjaquez. I don't see how it matters what I want."

"Grow a spine, girl," he growled, expression darkening. "Do you want to go back to the _Midori_ or not?"

Orihime's nervous attention went from him to the ship and back again. "I can't protect Karakura if I don't uphold my side --"

"Your bargain was with Aizen, not Schiffer," he muttered, fingers tightening on her shoulder. "Aizen isn't going to make good on any promises of protection, no matter whose deck you're on, Orihime."

Her brow wrinkled in frown, eyes following the ship gliding slowly across the water, skirting shoals.

"You should go home."

Her eyes flicked to him. Grimmjow watched the fear grip their violet-hazel depths. "Schiffer won't make you that offer, Orihime," he said, watching the indecision pass over her face. "I'm not putting you back aboard the _Midori_ under any conditions. Home or Aizen. That's my offer."

The proposal surprised her, and for a moment she wanted to debate each choice fully, but she shook her head before her homesickness could make the decision for her. "With Captain Aizen. Grimmjow," she added, sampling the name she'd been reluctant to use. "My exchange was with him."

He wasn't sure why, but the answer made him want to spit on the ground. Instead he growled a prime curse, shaking his head. He hadn't intended to give her a choice; only tell her he'd put her on the _Five Mirrors_ and not the _Midori_, but then all those words about going home popped into his mind, and then out his mouth. He couldn't explain the unusual clutter in his thoughts, and he wasn't going to admit it was those large eyes she pegged on him that were a combination of innocence and smile.

She was a means to _The Pantera's_ release of his obligation to Aizen. That was all.

That's what he told himself again as they started down the slope for the sandy beach where the longboats were tethered.

* * *

The afternoon wore on with the bustle of loading fresh water and a few supplies rummaged from the island onto _The Pantera._ Grimmjow kept a steady pace to the shore with Orihime at his side, pausing only long enough to strike down a branch of oranges from a tree when her gasp at the size of the fruits made him halt.

They were only fruit. Large orange juicy fruit among the dark green leaves of the tree, but the way she smiled and caught her breath at the sight Grimmjow had to take a second look. He couldn't believe she'd actually _gasp_ over a fruit tree. But she had, and he'd severed a branch loaded with oranges to take back to the ship.

Orihime stood in the master cabin as the ship gained speed through the shoals of the waterways leading away from Swan Islands. Her feet were bare and smooth now after the bath, her hair dry and slightly wavy from being combed with her fingers in absence of a brush. She smiled at the branch of orange fruit hanging over a section of cupboards built into the wall near the hearth.

She'd already eaten two and given one to Brigger when the boy's eyes had swollen to envious size at the sight of the branch Grimmjow had hauled aboard. She'd also noticed the boy's haste to hide his left hand, one she knew, in those brief seconds she'd seen it, to be crippled.

"Better to leave them on the stem," Grimmjow had said as he tied the branch to the wall by twine at the pegs. "They'll keep fresher longer."

She'd nodded glibly and he'd left to get _The Pantera_ underway. After hanging a few more of the few dresses she'd scavenged from what she'd learned to be Captain Tia Halibel's chest of clothing, Orihime explored the other prices of clothing hanging from the pegs on the cabin wall near the ones Grimmjow had designated for her use.

They were located near the bed at the corner of the aft wall, the two pegs loaded with a collection of shirts that were torn or ripped, mostly at seams, and she'd come to the conclusion he'd simply stashed his clothing needing mending on the pegs. All were in need of repair.

It was with a few misgivings and a little reserve that she took the armful of shirts and went to the chest at the foot of the bed to find needle and thread. The contents of the chest were in no particular order that she could determine, and Grimmjow had given her the run of the rooms, as he put it, so long as she didn't get too adventurous.

Orihime had no desire to snoop into too many cupboards.

The oranges on the limb lent a pleasant fruity aroma to the room that drifted into the office where Orihime decided to do the mending. The light was better at the window near the desk to the starboard side of the ship, and with a cautious look to the short staircase, she went to the wide ledge of window seat and sat at it. Outside she could see nothing but water, the late afternoon sun nearing evening, glinting brightly from the angle, small caps of white peaking at the waves.

She got comfortable on the seat, the armful of shirts in her lap as she threaded the needle with the only color of thread available from the chest. The sound of the water at the hull made her look to it, recalling the dolphins she'd seen from the rail of the _Midori_, making her wonder if she'd see more.

She smoothed the navy material of the shirt and found the large rip at the shoulder. She frowned, recognizing not a tear as much as a clean slice through the cotton. It hadn't escaped her that Grimmjow was very much a pirate, and while he'd shown her a great kindness, she didn't know that it would last without some sort of repayment.

She'd attributed part of his consideration for her welfare as a type of favor for healing his severely injured arm, but she wasn't sure that was all there was to it. That he wouldn't return her to the _Midori_ and Captain Schiffer made her anxious.

She carefully stitched the long tear in the shirt, each stitch exacting and measured, precise, as were her sutures in Grimmjow's chest. She finished the mend and did two more shirts, each with smaller but numerous tears. She took a moment to straighten her back, leaning to the sill frame behind her, eyes on the water below.

It winked back at her, flirtatious glints of light along the blue until she had to look away as the blinding reflection made spots before her eyes. She looked quickly to the stairs as Grimmjow ascended them.

His eyes locked onto the shirts in her lap, his expression more curious than displeased. "What do you think you're doing?"

Orihime pulled the shirt she was mending closer, eyes searching his face to gauge his mood. "I was just repairing them, Captain. It's the least I can do while aboard."

He went to a cupboard and found a dark glass bottle. "We've lost your friend Ulquiorra, for the moment."

She was going to say the captain was not her friend, not when he'd compelled her into deciding to leave her home, but she didn't. Her eyes dropped to her work, her fingers resuming her sewing.

He lit the oil lamp at the desk and turned the wick up higher, the light shedding more detail on the charts stacked to one side of the desk top. He turned the chair to face her and sat down in it, taking a long drink from the bottle. "Why don't you want to go home?"

She sighed, making a few stitches at the last part of the shirt's ripped shoulder. "Captain Aizen would lay waste Karakura."

"He'll do it anyway, if he feels the need."

"I can't go back and know it was my fault."

"Your being on the _Midori_ or the _Five Mirrors_ isn't going to change anything Aizen does, Orihime."

She nodded bemusedly, knotting the last stitch and tying off the thread, snapping it free.

"Or is it because you no longer have a rich fiancé' waiting for you?"

She shook her head, sorting through the shirts, his level stare making her cheeks heat. "I'm sure Ichigo has made other arrangements by now."

Grimmjow chuckled, catching her bare foot as she moved it to cross at her ankles. She instinctively pulled the foot back, eyes growing large at the scowl crossing his face.

"Ease up a minute, woman," he said, setting the bottle on the desk and leaning forward to give the foot more attention.

Orihime relaxed her ankle in his grip, her knees tensing to flinch the appendage from him, if she possibly could.

For a moment he inspected the sole, a thumb rubbing over the scratches along the bottom skin, frowning at the red marks. He turned the foot, eyes moving up her ankle to her leg until she settled her skirt lower over it.

His eyes shot to hers, reading the agitation she didn't bother to try hiding. He released her foot, watching her tuck it back to the wall where it was hidden by the maroon skirt. He sat back and reached for the bottle again.

Orihime resumed her mending, her heartbeat fast against her chest at his attention to her foot. She hastily whipped a few stitches into the tan material where a jagged tear split the shirt into three rips.

"No shoes in that hamper?"

"No, Captain." Her eyes stayed on her sewing.

"I told you to call me Grimmjow," he reminded thickly.

She chanced a look up at him as he took a long drink from the brandy. "Yes. Grimmjow."

They both looked to the stairs as Brigger came down them, slowly, his full attention on the tray in his hands laden with dishes and a few bowls.

"In here tonight," Grimmjow said as the boy concentrated at balancing the tray and walking.

"Yes, Captain."

Grimmjow moved the few charts on the desk to the side as the youth set the tray down and began arranging the dinner items on the surface. Brigger kept most of his focus on his work, but occasionally his eyes wandered to Orihime, eyes immediately returning to his work as Grimmjow mumbled something to him.

He kept his malformed hand out of sight as much as possible, the limb tucked to his tunic as he worked, good hand moving quickly over the dishes.

"That's all for now, Brigger," Grimmjow told him. "Tell Cook to close the galley."

"Yes, Captain." The boy took his leave and Grimmjow stood and turned to Orihime.

He turned up the wick of the lamp as darkness crept into the room. "Come eat."

She set her mending to one side of the window seat and crossed to the opposite side of the desk as he pulled the chair from against the wall by the hearth. She looked down as he held it, sitting slowly as he scooted it closer to the desk.

The desk was worn, most of its carved design lost in time and sea salt, the top scarred from assorted metal objects taking sail across its surface during rough waters. Orihime looked from the steaming dishes to Grimmjow as he took his seat in the chair again.

"Why is the sea so calm now?" she asked, watching as he uncovered several dishes.

"The islands are shallow, low water. Deeper water is choppier," he said, pushing a plate to her. "Dig in."

She did. It surprised him.

Soon her plate was equal parts pit-roasted pork, boiled potatoes, and sliced pineapple. He watched, pausing his own eating as she mashed it all together in the center of the plate, her fork flattening everything into a mushy mess.

"Are you going to eat it like that?" He watched her nod, the candlelight making her hair the color of the brandy in the fading evening light.

She nodded, one bite already in her cheek as she chewed. She swallowed quickly. "It's good this way." She looked to the thick mush. "Would you like to try it?"

"Hell, no."

For a few moments they ate, hearing the sounds of the crew on deck begin a round of betting over an arm wrestling match that had started.

Grimmjow poured her empty ceramic cup full from the bottle Brigger had brought with dinner. "It's only wine," he said as she began to protest.

Her eyes stayed on the cup as she ate, watching him fill his own.

"Why don't you want me back on the _Midori_?" As soon as she said it Orihime knew it wasn't the way she wanted the words to sound. "Captain Schiffer was in charge of keeping me for Captain Aizen. If you're going to return me to Captain Aizen, Cap -- Grimmjow, you could simply leave me on the _Midori_."

He nodded, drinking half his wine. "Since you're so willing to go back to Aizen, I think we can make it a mutually beneficial arrangement."

She stopped chewing, eyes growing large on him. "Mutually?"

"I'll return you to Aizen, and only him, in exchange for him releasing _The Pantera_ back to me. Free and clear," he added, watching relief wash over her features.

She nodded slowly, reaching for her wine. "That would make _The Pantera_ yours again."

"She's always mine," he said without malice. "Whether I'm standing on her deck or she's sitting at the bottom of the ocean, Orihime, she's mine. Make no mistake about that."

She took a deep breath, eyes resting on the scar at his jaw line. "I see."

He noted her attention. "Can you heal old wounds?"

Her eyes flicked away from the scar to her plate. "No. Only wounds that haven't healed."

"Not me," he said with a chuckle that made her look up quickly.

"Not you?" She moved her legs beneath the desk, her foot inching away as it rested by his boot. "You didn't mean you?"

"No. Brigger. He hides it, but I know you saw his crippled hand."

"Oh, yes." She frowned, not liking the murky area of healing such deformities. "Has it been deformed from birth?"

"I think so." He broke a rye roll into two pieces and put half on her plate. "It wouldn't be a fresh injury, but it's not exactly a wound at all."

"No. I can only heal recent injuries."

He nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Orihime. It's nothing you've done."

"I wish I could help him," she said with a sigh.

He watched her push the food around on her plate, which only made it a mushier pile than it had been. She took a small drink of the red wine, the beverage leaving a faint tint on her lips as she looked at her plate.

"You know, women marry men all the time who have mistresses," he said, forcing the topic he really wanted to know about. "So young Kurosaki has a woman on the side. You don't wallow in the misery of it, Orihime. You get your own pastime."

She looked at him with horror, shaking her head too many times. "No. I wouldn't do that. It's better this way."

"Kurosaki is a rich family. You're giving up a luxurious life."

"He was only a friend," she said, sighing. She took another drink of wine, bracing herself for a question she wanted answered. "You stole twenty-five horses from their stables."

He shook his head. "Didn't do it. And we're not going to talk about that tonight."

His tone had turned deadly serious, a caution Orihime knew she should heed, but she asked her next question.

"Why did you burn down the stables?"

This time his glare was sharper on her. "It was one barn, not the entire stable. And a few stacks of hay."

Her fingers toyed with the half of roll. "What did --"

"I said we're not going to discuss that tonight, Orihime," he cut in.

This time the glimmer in his eyes made her nod in agreement.

"Okay," she said meekly.

"You're damn right _okay_."

"Captain!" a voice called from the open door at the top of the stairs. "Ship made, Captain!"

Grimmjow's eyes stayed on Orihime's troubled features as she sat back from her plate where a small mound of mush remained. "Finished?"

She nodded.

"Finish your wine."

She didn't want to, the slight swell in her head already making her face heat. At least, that's what she told herself it was. "I don't want any more."

He sat back, his boot resting against her foot beneath the table, pinning it to the solid side of the desk. "I said for you to finish it, Orihime."

She decided there wasn't much harm in drinking the rest of the wine, and there might be more harm in opposing him. She took the cup and drank the rest in two swallows, watching him watch her.

"Better."

Grimmjow stood up and rounded the desk to pull her chair out, but she was already on her feet. He put one hand to her elbow and escorted her into the back bedchamber, feeling her arm tense as she walked.

"My mending --" she began, looking back to the window.

"It'll be there tomorrow." He released her and went to the candle lamp at the small table near the wall and lit it, keeping the wick low. He went to the window nearest the bed and dropped the reed blind, allowing only the moon's filtered light into the room.

"You've got the bed, Orihime, and anything in that hamper you want to sleep in," he said, watching her put a hand to the wall near the fireplace mantle. "Don't come up on deck. The door will be locked."

She nodded, the nervous ebb in her stomach growing.

For a moment he watched her suspicious study of him. "Goodnight."

She turned as he passed her and went to the doorway where the curtain was pushed to one side. "Goodnight, Grimmjow."

He nodded and left the room, pulling the curtain across the doorway.

She watched him leave, and then looked back to the still room that flickered in the soft light from the candle. She had the bed.

She took a deep breath, eyeing the few dresses hanging at the wall on the pegs. She crossed the room to the pegs, sifting through the dry dresses that smelled of the sea. She chose a sleeveless periwinkle chemise that was hemmed by a small row of ruffles. With a cautious look to the curtain crossing the door she unlaced the maroon dress and pulled it off.

Hurriedly she whisked on the chemise slip, smiling at its coolness in the warm evening. She turned the candle wick down to low.

With a sigh she crawled into the bed and pulled the blanket around her, sighing. _It was a good bed,_ she thought, stretching her legs as far as they would reach.

For a pirate.

* * *

**Authors' Note:** _Thanks so much for reading and for all the reviews!_


	11. Chapter 11

Ichigo, Uryuu, and Chad easily found the dock at the water's edge of the port town of Silver Bay that morning. It was the last ship at the line of docks, the slip most south of the row of ship's tethered to the wooden docks extending from the mainland into the harbor.

The day was already hot and promised to be merciless under the cloudless skies. The water looked inviting, but none of the three were interested in the deep harbor depths. Their eyes were on the ship with no name.

And then their collective attention went to the shapely silhouette standing where the bowsprit stretched out beneath the jib sails at the front of the ship. She smiled at them, her strawberry-blonde hair barely under control beneath the pink scarf tied around her head. Her black pants were loose, as was her coral tunic collar, exposing a good deal if not nearly all of her cleavage.

Six eyes from the dock watched dumbfounded, half expecting a disaster of the delicious kind to pop out of the straining coral tunic neckline, but the wearer only waved invitingly at them.

"Heyya, boys! Looking for us?" Rangiku Matsumoto called as they nodded.

"Captain Zaraki didn't mention her," Chad said, the first to find working vocal cords.

Ichigo and Uryuu shook their heads.

"She's the navigator."

The turned at the voice, for a moment the sun shining off Ikkaku's bald head glinting blindingly from the man, until they saw his companion. Chad and Uryuu both wanted to laugh, but it was Ichigo that made that mistake first.

"Are those _feathers_?"

Yumichika frowned at him, the dangle of dark braided hair tipped by three feathers and weighted at the end with six glass beads to his left temple a pride point with him. "These are prized feathers from the royal oserlee bird, I'll have you know," he said, miffed at their chuckles. "They were a gift from a dear friend."

Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu all looked to Ikkaku, who was glowering at them.

"Not me, you idiots," Ikkaku growled. "A woman friend."

"Oh," Ichigo said, grinning. "Hey," he returned Ikkaku's sharp look, "you owe me for getting you out of jail."

Ikkaku shrugged and pushed past him, Yumichika following. "Thanks."

"Thanks?" Ichigo repeated, scowling after him as the two crewmen took the gangplank reaching from the ship. "Four hundred silver coins and that's it? _Thanks_?"

"Thanks _a lot_," Ikkaku added, not looking back.

Ichigo looked to Uryuu and Chad. "Ingrate."

"Come on aboard," Rangiku called to them, then twiddled a few fingers at Ikkaku and Yumichika as they went directly to the forecastle and disappeared down the stairs. She looked back to the three youths on the dock. Smiling warmly, she waved them to the gangplank. "Unless you're not that rich kid looking for his runaway bride."

Ichigo groaned. "That's not what it's about. I'm looking --"

"Oh, I know, I know," Rangiku said with a toss of her hand, eyes focusing behind them. "Heyya!"

Ichigo was about to turn to see who she was hailing, but Renji's shoulder bumped his as he passed on his way to the gangplank.

"Come on, rich boy," he growled, hoisting his rolled duffle bag higher onto his shoulder, eyes sharpening on Uryuu and Chad. "Captain Zaraki doesn't wait."

Ichigo, Uryuu, and Chad fell into step behind Renji, their steps more deliberate on the wooden planks extended from the ship as the walkway bobbed with the swells of water beneath the ship.

"You're in a foul mood for having just seen your sweetheart," Ichigo called to him as he and Uryuu and Chad followed. "If you're in such good company with Tatsuki, why haven't I heard of it from Orihime?"

"Tatsuki wants some answers from you," Renji snapped, shaking his head at Ichigo as he outpaced them across the deck to the forecastle. "You've got some explaining to do. And the way I hear it, Maid Inoue seems to know a good deal she doesn't share with you."

Ichigo sorted through what the red-haired man could have meant by that as his steps slowed, but could feel Uryuu's suddenly resentful scowl on the back of his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Renji didn't turn around. "Does the name Maid Kuchiki ring any bells in that orange head of yours?"

Ichigo halted midway on the deck, partly because Renji disappeared into the staircase leading below deck to the crews' quarters, but largely because Rangiku jumped down from her semi-perch near the bowsprit, a movement that made her large bosom heave and settle beneath the ill-closed shirt.

"No cargo? Just your handsome selves?" she asked.

Uryuu reddened against her candid attention, and Ichigo figured it was only fair, as they three were doing their best not to stare at her tunic. Even Chad's eyes were more fixated.

"Come on," she said, one hand at her small waist where a sword was holstered. "You can go below and find a spot. Anything without a body or pillow in it is fair game."

They all looked back to the dock as a straggling line of men lumbered down the worn planks. They were of all shapes and sizes, from thin to enormous, but none of them were as large as the Captain of the ship, and all were armed to the teeth with sword, dagger, and a few axes.

"You better hurry," Rangiku said with a chuckle, nodding to the score of men. "Pickings will get slim soon. Claim your bunks now, boys."

She watched them glance to the line of men spreading out over the deck, most going to the forecastle stairs, and then looked to the sea beyond the harbor.

Momo Hinamori had remained land-bound at her father's orders, and even Rangiku's own captain Toshiro Hitsugaya had made excuses to dry dock for lengthy periods of time to be near his childhood friend of maid Hinamori. He was one of the youngest captain to ever command a ship, in any port, and had bided his time while his young friend had not only grown up, but set her sights -- and heart -- on Sousuke Aizen.

The illegitimate Aizen had returned her attentions, but his sights were on her father's shipyard, and when that had failed to become part of Momo's dowry, his interest had left with the tide. It was a plan of eight months that had kept him at the coastline under false pretenses, amassing affiliations he'd hoped to use later to hold the King's maritime hostage until he'd acquired the fifth part of the royal treasure, but it was a failed plan, and he'd set sail to achieve his cause by other means.

It also took his lieutenant Gin Ichimaru away from the mainland.

Which put the navigator Rangiku Matsumoto at free rein to her cups. She went there willingly. While Momo had been under the awe at Aizen's beautifully written letters while he was trawling the seaboard, Rangiku Matsumoto had been at the alter. Alone.

So when she was given the chance to navigate for anyone bound to confront the ship her former fiancé was on, she leapt for the opportunity to face Gin Ichimaru again.

A wistful cast lent her blue eyes as they wandered over the cobalt waters beyond the mainland. Of all the questions she had for Ichimaru, _why_ was only the one she asked herself the most. She turned as she heard the quick steps of Yachiru across the deck. She smiled immediately at the girl.

"Captain Kenny's ready to go," the girl chirped, her double smock of pinks and purples clashing with her green pantaloons. Her eyes widened. "Ooh, your shirt is unbuttoned again."

Rangiku only nodded as she looked to the next set of crewmen boarding the ship, the attention of some of them remaining on her as the rest headed for the forecastle.

She looked back to the girl's wooden sword stuck in her green sash at her waist. "I hear that boy with the orange hair was one of the best at the tournaments. Maybe you should give him a challenge, Yachiru."

A mischievous gleam came to the girl's eyes, her small hand patting her sword hilt. "Captain Kenny, too!"

Below deck Ichigo and his traveling companions were trying to find room. No one had warned them about the navigator, but they should have. None of them expected a build like Rangiku's except on the figurehead. Ichigo was still trying to put aside visions of the woman's friendly greeting as he and Chad and Uryuu descended the stairs to the forecastle below deck. It was adequately lit and ventilated with light from the grate at the open hatch near the bow of the ship, rows of bunk berths along each side of the hull and hammocks hung between every available post in between. Everywhere were men of half a dozen countries elbowing for space and sleeping arrangements. The three newcomers pushed and were pushed as they made their way through.

Ichigo looked around at the possibilities. Most of the bunks and hammocks were obviously in use, marked with assorted blankets, threadbare pillows, and items of clothing, but a few were open. He looked to where Renji was stowing his duffle bag at an unkempt hammock, and then to a set of empty bunks and an unstrung hammock near them.

"Are these taken?" he asked, one hand on the wool blanket of a top bunk.

Renji glanced at him and shook his head, turning back to his hammock. "Take your pick."

Uryuu and Chad exchanged looks, and then Ichigo opted for the slack hammock at a post.

"On deck!" Zaraki's voice boomed out from above. "Setting sail!"

Ikkaku and Yumichika were the first to bolt up the stairs at the order, followed by a few more dozen men.

Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu put their few belongings onto their respective beds, Uryuu wrinkling his nose at the musty smell of the woolen blankets as he set his bow and quiver of arrows far back to the wall of the upper bunk.

"Take them topside to air out once we're on the water," Renji said to him, seeing his grimace at the bed clothes.

"I will." Uryuu shook out the dark gray blanket as Chad claimed the lower bunk.

The hold was fast emptying of crewmen, some picking up their gait when Rangiku's voice rang out with orders to the sail master, a few chuckles and quips muttered. A round of appreciative whistles went through the main deck, only to hush as a barking call came from the navigator.

Ichigo took a few moments to tie the loose end of the hammock to a nearby post, eyeing Renji as the crewman gave him a belittling look. "You got a problem?"

"You're the one with a problem." Renji pulled off his black head rag and retied it more evenly around his head. "Two women are always a problem."

Uryuu's eyes sharpened on Ichigo. "What's that about, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo scowled and made another knot in the rope at the post. "That's really none of your business, Abarai."

"Nope. It's not," he agreed, stepping closer to him as a bell rang out on deck. "But from what I hear, Orihime Inoue is a quiet thing, and from the few times I've seen her and what Tatsuki's said, she can find better than a half-time husband."

Uryuu tossed the blanket onto his bunk, full attention on the conversation now. "What's that?"

Ichigo gave the Quincy a quick look. "That's my business, Ishida."

Uryuu looked to Renji, who was grinning a little too wickedly at Ichigo's discomfort over the matter.

"I've got a rope to pull," Renji said, heading for the staircase. He cast a look back at the three. "You're all able-bodied. Let's see if you're seaworthy. There're enough ropes for everyone."

Ichigo watched him leave up the stairs, feeling Uryuu's simmering attention on him from the bunk. Chad's interest was there, too. He heard the archer take a deep breath, and was waiting for his low tone to start with the accusations, but a bellow came from above.

"Kurosaki boy!" Zaraki called, his voice seeming to billow through the low ceiling of the crews' quarters as the ship heaved into motion. "Topside, boy! Introduce yourselves! I want to see what you're made of!"

* * *

Morning had broken muggy and hot aboard _The Pantera_. Orihime found herself in the suffocating heat with a ship full of pirates, the thick air around them hanging limp, discouraging every movement until they were all in any spot of shade the masts and rigging offered. In the few days she'd been aboard she had learned something of the routine, which she found very much like her few days on the _Midori_. At least, the running of the ship; the atmosphere surrounding _The Pantera_, however, was more casual, as evidenced in the stages of undress that most of the crew seemed to be under much of the time. She tried to keep her attention on the water or the dolphins in the distance.

By midmorning the heavy air was still stubbornly foggy, a heavy mist that refused to burn off in the dim spot of sun among the searing lethargic clouds overhead, and noon neared too soon with a damp fog that concentrated every irritation, making breathing a chore.

As much as Grimmjow disliked the air hanging around the ship, he resented even more the fact that the fog made for uneasy travel despite the day wearing on. He looked to where Orihime sat at the quarterdeck stair, the skirt of her teal gauze dress in limp folds around her bare legs, her feet now minus the bandages she'd wrapped over the scrapes and cuts on her soles. She fanned herself with the bamboo fan she'd found among Captain Halibel's trunk of disposed clothes, and had pulled her hair back with the blue flower clips to each side of her face, the bulk of the auburn tresses pushed to her back in an attempt at coolness.

He watched Brigger skirting the aft deck, the cabin boy's curiosity outweighing his usual caution.

"No sign of the _Midori_," Cat said as he met Grimmjow at the port rail where the captain had been keeping watch over the fog laden waters. "Nothing since sunset last night and that was just a spot. Won't see nothing of him until this fog lifts, if then."

Grimmjow nodded, looking back out over the misty waters to where they'd last seen the small but enlarging dot of a ship he assumed to be the _Midori_ the night before. Noon should have brought the sun out in full to burn off the fog, but so far there was little more than a bright spot in the gray skies to resemble the sun. "Maybe sooner, Cat. The _Midori's_ one of the fastest ships in Aizen's service. Ulquiorra's got his sights on us."

"He may not know what happened with Captain Jiruga and those girls," Cat said, eyes moving along the water that barely rippled as _The Pantera_ made slow progress westward. "I doubt he's had time to interrogate anyone from the _Bleeding Sister_."

"Why would he?" Grimmjow looked to the crow's nest where the lookout was keeping a sharp eye on the surrounding waters enveloped in gray. "If Loly and Menoly turned Maid Inoue over to Nnoitra, they're not going to hand _him_ over to Ulquiorra."

Cat nodded. "They gave you up."

Grimmjow shrugged, glancing to where Brigger was emboldening himself to approach Orihime at the steps. "Something like that." He looked to the foredeck where a dozen men were laughing lowly and playing dice. "Any story I tell won't matter to Ulquiorra." He nodded to the crewmen, his voice lowering. "I want no one in their quarters. If the _Midori_ catches up, I want no surprises."

"Aye, Captain."

Grimmjow left the rail and Cat for the quarterdeck. The light was low on deck without a full sun, the eerie stillness of the foggy day around them passing slowly, seeming to discourage any loud sounds in the quietness of the mist. Most of the crew had stripped down to breeches or pants, the thick air of the preceding night and now day too much for excess clothing. They weren't the only ones feeling the heat he noticed as he approached the quarterdeck stair. From her seat on the step he could see that Orihime was minus her chemise skirt, her teal dress slacker across her knees without the fuller petticoat slip as she looked to Brigger. The boy hovered close, his posture uncertain as she smiled kindly at him.

"Let me see," she said, reaching for his hand as he hid his malformed appendage at his back. "Maybe there's something I can do."

Brigger looked to Grimmjow as he joined them, the boy's face taking on misgivings among the hope there. "Captain, I'll be about --"

"Stay," Grimmjow said, shaking his head, eyes on Orihime's outstretched hand as she waited for the boy. "What are we doing?"

The cabin boy cast a guilty look between his captain and Orihime, taking a step back from her until she chanced to grab his good hand. "He was going to show me his injured hand," she said gently, tugging at his hand. "I don't know if there's anything I can do for him, but I'd like to look at it."

Grimmjow nodded to her, but his eyes were on the Brigger. "Show her, boy. Weren't you talking about it before I got here?"

Brigger nodded, his hand easing out from behind his back. "Yes, Captain." He was going to say more, but Orihime was pulling him closer by his wrist.

She pushed up the sleeve he kept secured at the wrist, the excess hanging over the malformed hand while the good hand had its sleeve rolled to his elbow. The smallest fingers on the boy's hand were as if one, the separate bones attached along the fingers at the knuckles and by the skin that had refused to separate in the womb, forming a thick digit of welded bones that remained crooked in a half curl. The other fingers and thumb were also distorted, the fingers and thumb bent at odd angles, the bones inside still rigid and claw-like from healing wrong. She turned it over to see the palm, catching most of the frown that creased her lips. "It's been like this since birth?" she asked, her fingers pushing his fingers and thumb to open more over his palm with what little movement the joints allowed.

"No, not all of it, lady," he said, reddening beneath his tan. "Those were born wrong," he said as her fingers turned his hand and she looked with more interest at the two fingers fused together. "But the others broke in a blacksmith accident and didn't heal right."

She shook her head. "It's already mended itself, but healed wrong. I can't do anything about what you were born with," she said, trying to choose her words carefully, "and the bones that have healed crooked are already set in their malignancy."

Brigger's features pulled into a hurt expression that dissolved into defensiveness. "I understand."

Grimmjow was watching Orihime's eyes cloud with compassion. Her fingers closed firmer on the boy's hand when he tried to pull it away. "There's nothing you can do?" he asked as Brigger pushed his sleeve back over the hand. "Maybe your influence under a splint or heavy wrapping?"

She shook her head, relinquishing the hand as the boy pulled harder from her. "I wish there was."

Brigger was staring at the malformed hand. "What if it broke again? The fingers and thumb that healed wrong, would they grow right this time?"

Orihime's mouth dropped open at the notion. She could read in his face what he wasn't saying. "They may, but perhaps not. They may return crooked again."

"Brigger, it's not worth it," Grimmjow said, his mind following the path the boy's thoughts were.

"But if it would help, Captain," he said, the plea in his tone not completely as steady as he'd hoped to make it, "if it might heal right again, I'd be willing to have them broken. If they were broken by someone who knows how, Captain. Like you."

Grimmjow didn't like the desperation in the boy's face when he looked at him. "No. Absolutely not, Brigger. And you're not to ask any of the crew, boy," he added as the youth's eyes darted to the deck to where Cat was still at the rail. "She said it was a chance either way."

Brigger nodded. "Thank you for looking at it," he said to Orihime before backing a step. He took a breath, hiding his left hand with his good one. "Captain, would you care for --"

"Nothing. You're dismissed," Grimmjow told him, watching closely at his countenance. He turned to Orihime after the boy had left. "You tell me if he asks about having it mended again."

"Yes, Captain. Grimmjow," she corrected quickly.

"Better."

She glanced to the men at the front of the ship. The deck was quieter than any other day since she'd been aboard. There was no music, little talking or laughing, even the slack flap of the sails above in the low breeze was uncannily quiet. The wooden hull creaked as the ship moved lethargically on the waters.

Grimmjow looked beyond the starboard rail as a slight shadow fell over the hazy waters that were now topped by a lightening drift of fog. There wasn't much to see across the water, only a hundred feet at the most, but the faint ray of sun was hopeful. He glanced back to Orihime as she resumed her fanning. "Let's see your feet."

On impulse she pulled her feet closer to the step below her, eyes shooting to his face. "Oh, they're okay. Almost all healed." Her gaze dropped to his chest where the bandages were visible beneath his open vest. "I should change the wrapping on that."

He shook his head. "It's healed. But you know that, don't you?"

The fan slowed a little as she nodded. "That's good. It's --"

"Remarkable," he decided, leaning one hand on the rail of the stair, studying her closely. "Your feet are healed, too?"

She nodded.

His eyes went to her ankles nearly hidden by the deep blue of the skirt. She fanned herself quicker, the pink coming to her cheeks despite the motion.

He chuckled. "Your secret is yours, Orihime, however it's done."

She took a deep breath, the question on her mind more than passing curiosity. "You said you didn't steal the horses from the Kurosaki stables, Grimmjow, but they were found on your ship."

He nodded, stepping back and leaning to the ship rail behind him and crossing his arms. "Five horses were on _The Pantera_, not the twenty-five that were stolen. Did you hear that part of the story?"

She shook her head, biting her lip for a brief second as she summoned her courage to ask further. "Captain Schiffer said you and Captain Jiruga had differing accounts of the theft."

"Damn right we do," he growled, eyes sharpening on her in a flash. Her attention remained expectant on him, face not hiding her eagerness. "I won a round at dice against Nnoitra a year ago, one he couldn't pay up," he relented, realizing the compelling persuasion in her soft expression was more powerful than he'd previously thought. "In lieu of payment he offered five well-bred horses, and I took it. A week out to sea the Seireitei navy picked me up on a tip sent out that I had the horses stolen from the Kurosaki stables the previous month. They wanted to know what I'd done with the other twenty, but they didn't care about the truth; just that I had the five still onboard."

"He framed you," she said slowly. "I think that's the word."

"One word for it," he muttered. "Nnoitra made off with the other twenty, and it looks like he kept some of them for himself on his future governorship."

"The horses I saw at the island village livery and Captain Jiruga's estate," she said slowly as he nodded. Her eyes flicked between his, searching for signs of deceit, but they remained unchanged in their steady piercing gaze. She let the fan fall to her lap, looking to it as her fingers squeezed closed the decorative bamboo splay. Another thought made her look back up to him. "Captain Schiffer said you took the loss for the Day of Mercy."

He nodded, for a moment his attention going to the fog that was taking on a heavy glare before being burnt off under the sweltering sun above it. Sounds seemed to be concentrated, creaks of the wooden hull of the ship cracking loudly, bringing the crew's attention to the water around them. He looked back to Orihime.

"Nnoitra had been arrested on separate charges of smuggling shortly after he made off with the horses," he told her. "He was put up against me and a petty thief on the King's Day of Mercy. Charges of piracy had recently been brought against me in the time since Nnoitra set me up for the horse theft. The vote went against me; Nnoitra and that little shit pickpocket Luppi were set free and I received their sentences."

"Luppi ..." she said, sitting straighter at the name. She searched back over her memory until she recalled the boy under Aizen's command who'd been on the _Midori_ as she'd tended Grimmjow's arm. "Captain Aizen's cabin boy."

He nodded. "Not even a very good thief. He got himself caught for stealing a jug of honey the following month. Aizen had his sorry carcass pulled off a three day pillory stock sentence in Cape North Shore."

A stray gust of breeze made the sails overhead slap sharply against their ropes, but Orihime didn't look at them. "That's why you burnt the Kurosaki stables, because you were unjustly imprisoned."

Grimmjow made a low growl, hand resting at his scabbard at the name. "Isshin Kurosaki felt the need to add a little interest to my penalty when I was first arrested."

She frowned at the phrase. "You're going to pursue the family?" Alarm made her stand, one hand clutching the stair rail. "You're --"

"It was a barn and some hay, Orihime," he said abruptly, disliking the trepidation eclipsing her face when she looked at him. "I think my quarrel with Kurosaki is satisfied. If I wanted more I would've torched the entire estate."

"You're done with them?" she asked hopefully.

He shrugged, stepping from the rail behind him. "Unless you want to return home to Karakura to tell them where to find the other twenty of their horses."

Orihime wanted to ask exactly what he'd meant by a _little interest_, but she felt she'd pushed her curiosity far enough. Judging from his stare sharpening on her, he was about finished with the subject. For a moment it appeared he was going to say something, and then stopped, looking across the deck. He searched the crew, some of which were looking out over the water. Grimmjow's eyes lifted to the sails overhead that snapped, and then went out over the sea. She heard it, too, the excess creaking of wood that drifted across the water beneath the layer of fog that seemed to take on a reflective appearance as the sun shone meekly through it.

"Those aren't our sounds," he said lowly, more to himself than her.

She looked to the sails and ropes stretched overhead, hand gripping the fan tightly. She'd been on ships long enough now to know that creaks of a ship followed the movements of ropes and sails and wooden beams, but now there were more that weren't accounted for from _The Pantera_. She looked to Grimmjow as his alert attention went to the starboard side waters where a few of the crew were now looking.

"Go below," he said to her, scowl increasing as a louder creak echoed from the thinning mists.

Orihime's eyes went over the waters. "Do you see anything?"

Suddenly the lookout's voice rang out. "Ship made! Starboard bow!"

Every man on deck was on his feet, the sound of metal scratching as dozens of weapons were drawn, the crew rushing to the rail as a ship materialized from the wispy fog.

Orihime caught her breath as Grimmjow's hand took her elbow. "Who is it?"

"Hail _Pantera_!" Ulquiorra's voice called above the rumble of pirates' murmurings. A moment later the outline of the _Midori_ became visible in the shifting layers of thin mist. It dissolved fifty feet away almost suddenly, its rail nearest _The Pantera_ lined with crewmen. Yammy was at the aft deck, but Ulquiorra was closer at the fore, eyes seeking Grimmjow. His melancholic stare hardened when he saw Orihime beside the blue-haired captain.

"Captain Jaegerjaquez," he called, one hand at his sword hilt at his side, "permission to board."

"Denied," Grimmjow called back as the _Midori_ bobbed closer in the clearing sun over the waters. "Move along, _Midori_."

A grumble went through the lines of both crews, Yammy's the loudest.

Ulquiorra's hand closed over a rope running from the rigging to a mast overhead. "Again, Captain, permission to board to discuss the welfare of the Maid Inoue."

Orihime took a step back as Grimmjow pushed her behind him, feeling the deck beneath her feet vibrate from the crews' scuffling at the rail as the men readied for the altercation at hand.

"Denied, Ulquiorra," Grimmjow called back, hand tensing on the sword hilt as he drew it. "She's not your matter to discuss."

Ulquiorra looked to what he could see of Orihime behind Grimmjow. "She was placed in my keep, Grimmjow. Hand her over."

"Go back to the cabin," Grimmjow said in a lower tone to Orihime as he took her arm firmer and maneuvered her to the quarterdeck companionway stairs. "Lock the door behind you."

She nodded as he pushed her to the stairwell, but a shout from the _Midori_ made her pause.

"Board her!" Ulquiorra commanded, his hand gripping the rope overhead as he swung onto _The Pantera's_ main deck.

The signal was followed by the slap of half a dozen gangplanks thrown from the _Midori_ to the second ship's rail and dozens of pirates roaring their invasion, a rush of men across the boards.

The deck of _The Pantera_ erupted into chaos as the two pirate crews met in an onrush of swords and curses. Grimmjow met Ulquiorra's attack head on, blocking the sudden flash of blade meant for his neck and returning a volley of strikes that drove the _Midori's_ captain into the throng of fights among the crew.

Orihime turned to duck into the cabin beneath the quarterdeck to find Yammy's bulk standing in her way.

"Not so fast, sprite," he barked, reaching for her arm with a thick hand.

She quickly sidestepped him and looked around desperately. She grabbed a belaying pin from the pinrail and held it before her in what she deemed a defensive stance. Yammy only laughed, lunging at her as she shrieked and swung the wooden dowel at him. A couple of _thunks_ landed on his shoulders as he ripped the makeshift club of pin from her hands and hoisted her with one arm around her waist.

She tried to push from the arm trapping her as Yammy made their way through the battles raging on the deck, but some of her fight diminished as he crossed a gangplank with her. Below her feet the meager waves of the water lapped at the hulls of the ships, and as much as she wanted free from the _Midori's_ first mate's clutch she did not want to be in the water.

As soon as Yammy reached the second ship's deck, however, she tore at the thick arm at her waist, fingernails sinking deep into his skin.

"Settle down," Yammy growled, arm tightening on her until it forced the air from her lungs.

She looked up at a movement from above to see Grimmjow swing by a rope onto the _Midori's_ deck. With a swipe of the blade that gave her no time to move out of the way he sliced the large mate's ear nearly off his head. Yammy howled and grabbed the side of his head, dropping Orihime.

She scrambled away to the main mast post, getting to her feet and cowering behind the billows of ropes coiled there. Grimmjow was looking to where she was half hidden, but he turned as Ulquiorra dropped onto the deck by another rope. A quick slash of Ulquiorra's blade left a slit at the vest at Grimmjow's shoulder, a movement that sent Grimmjow at him with a roar of retaliation.

Orihime skirted the barrels and tangle of ropes at the mail sail as the captains launched into a new battle. She avoided a bloody hand as Yammy turned his attention on her, his fingers passing through her hair as she darted away. She had just grabbed another belaying pin from the bulwark when she caught sight of Grimmjow's sword stuck to Ulquiorra's throat. She gasped, and Yammy turned to see the captains.

"Call off the _Midori_," Grimmjow growled at him, the sword point etching a small trickle of blood from Ulquiorra's neck above the scar there. "Do it now!"

"Return the maid to me and you and your men can sail free, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said tightly, mouth set against the sharp prick at his throat. "Captain Aizen left her in my care. Return her --"

"You gave up that care when you let those snips Loly and Menoly hand her to Nnoitra, Schiffer," Grimmjow said, backing him across the deck, taking a fleeting look at Orihime and the large first mate of the _Midori_. "Get away from her, Yammy!" he demanded, looking back to Ulquiorra. "Call off your men!"

Cat took a rope onto the _Midori's_ deck, and in one quick move had the point of his sword at Yammy's bloodied throat.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened before narrowing at Grimmjow's accusation, sliding to one side to see Orihime still brandishing the dowel pin at Yammy as Cat positioned himself between her and the first mate. Yammy's sword lowered, his hand still tight around the hilt until Cat stuck the sword tip deeper into the man's flesh.

"They told me you were seen in the islands, Jaegerjaquez," Ulquiorra said, eyes still on Orihime. "Jiruga was repairing the _Bleeding Sister_ in port. No one said anything about him and the maid."

Grimmjow nodded. "Drop your sword, captain."

Ulquiorra looked back to him. "You didn't take her?"

"Drop it!" Grimmjow emphasized his words by letting the sword point draw a second line of blood above the scar.

Ulquiorra made no sound, but let the sword lower to his side.

"I took her from Nnoitra, Schiffer. Call off your men."

It was Yammy that answered. He turned his attention from Cat and Orihime's clumsy stance with the wooden club and looked to _The Pantera's_ deck.

"_Midori_, lower your weapons!" he shouted.

Ulquiorra let his sword fall to the deck and his crew followed his example.

Grimmjow nodded and eased the blade from Ulquiorra's throat, stepping back a foot. "Come along."

Orihime felt as if she'd stepped into a nightmare of a fairy tale, again as the crews from both ships boarded the _Midori_ under the hot sun that had finally broken through the hazy skies_. The Pantera's_ crew disarmed the second ship of weapons and shoes and shuffled the men into the forecastle under heavy locks, including Yammy. Under Grimmjow's escort Orihime and Ulquiorra descended into the captain's quarters while Cat and a few other men from _The Pantera_ went in search of Loly and Menoly who had refused to answer their captain's calls.

Orihime immediately went to the small room with the cot where she had stayed when she was aboard the _Midori_, but a thorough search of the room yielded no sign of her medicinal and sewing bag. Grimmjow made his own search of the office and Ulquiorra's private chamber, but no bag was to be found. Cat joined them from the stairs.

He looked to Grimmjow. "No sign yet of the girls." He looked to Ulquiorra, ready for any movement the captain would make.

Grimmjow turned to Ulquiorra. "Where's her bag, Ulquiorra?"

Orihime still stood near the small room with the cot, watching as Ulquiorra's face remained void of expression, the trickle of blood at his throat seeming to have no affect on him.

"She belongs on the _Midori_, Jaegerjaquez," Ulquiorra said plainly. "Leave her here and I'll deal with crewmen Loly and Menoly as is fit."

"The bag, Schiffer," Grimmjow repeated, drawing his sword again from his scabbard. "The maid is staying with me. Where's her bag?"

Ulquiorra shook his head.

Grimmjow muttered a line of oaths. "Cat, take Captain Schiffer above and put him between the mainsail ropes, and send for the quartermaster and tell him to bring his whip. Maybe thirty lashes will remind the Captain where he put the maiden's bag."

Orihime sucked in a horrified gasp, eyes shooting between the men.

"Aye, Captain," Cat said as he left the room, pushing Ulquiorra before him up the staircase.

Grimmjow looked to Orihime as she shook her head. "Keep your sniffles to yourself, maid. This is none of your business."

She shook her head again, stepping back as he neared her. "I don't need it, Captain."

His eyes flashed a deeper blue, but his expression darkened. "What's that? You don't need it?"

"I don't need it," she repeated, swallowing quickly as he closed the distance between them. "I don't need the bag to heal." She looked between his eyes for a moment, steeling herself not to tell him her secrets. She hadn't even told Tatsuki how her healing methods were accomplished. "Everything in the bag can be replaced."

She took a step back, finding herself against the exterior wall.

"Why so interested in saving his back from the lash, Orihime?" He braced one hand to the wall beside her head, leaning closer to watch her lips form words she didn't utter. "What's he to you?"

She shook her head slightly. "A pirate."

"That's all?"

She nodded, unable to take her eyes from his intense scowl. "Everything in the bag can be replaced," she said, eyes slowly lowering to his chest. She chanced to put a hand lightly to the bandage there, the pressure barely felt through the cotton. "I don't need the bag to heal anyone, Captain. You know that."

He looked to her hand, saw her fingers curl against the bandage beneath his black vest, and then they both looked to the staircase as Cat appeared there.

The first mate looked between them for a moment. "We found Loly and Menoly."

Grimmjow straightened. "Good." He made a gesturing motion to the stairs for Orihime. "Let's go, maid."

The sun was making up for lost time with a heavy, humid heat that spread across the _Midori's_ deck under cloudless skies. Long thick ropes were extended between the ships to keep them abreast of each other, the natural drift of the water tugging the hulls at an uneven pace. The crew of _The Pantera_ remained on deck, the _Midori's_ crew having been locked below in the hold without their weapons. Orihime looked to where Ulquiorra's wrists were being tied to the mainsail ropes. Grimmjow glanced to her, reading the dismay in her face. He turned to Cat.

"Cut him loose and lock him in the forecastle with the rest of his men."

Cat frowned a little, but nodded. "Aye, Captain."

"Cut the sails and boltropes, every one of them," Grimmjow added, looking to where two of his men were holding Loly and Menoly at the ship's port rail. "Where were they?"

"Galley, Captain," Cat said, looking to the girls.

Grimmjow nodded. "Take Schiffer away."

Orihime dared not sigh too heavily as she saw Ulquiorra cut loose from the post and led to the front of the ship. He glanced her way, remaining silent, eyes shifting to Grimmjow as he was ushered to the forecastle.

Grimmjow's attention settled on Loly and Menoly, who were trying to shrink from the men holding them to the ship rail.

Orihime took a few steps before Grimmjow looked her way and then she stopped, biting her lower lip as he turned back to the two female crewmen before him.

Menoly and Loly were both shaking their heads, words tumbling from heir mouths in unintelligent gibberish, until he grabbed Menoly by her tunic collar and heaved her overboard. Loly's breath sucked in sharply as Menoly's scream was silenced by a splash into the water. Grimmjow grabbed Loly's shirt and sent her over the rail with a muted curse.

Orihime raced to the _Midori's_ rail, eyes on the barely rippling water below where it was churned white and bubbling from the bodies thown into it. Both girls appeared, arms flailing and gulping for air. She looked to Grimmjow as he stared at her.

"They'll drown," she said, her voice low as the few men and Cat awaited further orders from their captain.

"That's the idea," Grimmjow told her abruptly. He looked to his men. "Get the ship shredded."

Cat shouted orders over the deck of crewmen from _The Pantera_ and they eagerly set about climbing the _Midori's_ rope rigging. Orihime looked from the two young women thrashing in the water between the ships as they were left behind in the low wake to where Grimmjow stood a few feet away.

"But ... but they'll drown, Captain," she said again, her tone soft so as not to carry to the men who were eagerly ripping the masts wide open with knives and swords. "I don't think they can swim."

Grimmjow's face took on a darker shade, this time without any temperance. "Are you so eager to aid your enemies? There's a time for settling scores, girl. It's bad enough you're willing to spare Schiffer's lily back, but I cannot understand sparing _them_."

She nodded, her eyes going back to the water to where Loly and Menoly had drifted to behind the ships, still both struggling to stay above the water's surface. She glanced to the corkwood rounds that were tied to man lines against the bulwark.

"Don't even think about doing that," Grimmjow grumbled at her as he saw her hand inch to one of the life preservers. "They're not worth it, Orihime."

Her eyes dropped to the corkwood, fading cries from Loly and Menoly making her look to them bobbing in the gentle wake of the water east of the ships. "I don't think Menoly was in favor of giving me to Captain Jiruga, Captain Grimmjow," she said carefully, eyes returning to the preservers. "I think it was Loly's idea."

"They share a mind, Orihime," he said, stepping closer as she shied away from him, her back against the rail.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the fierce look in his eyes made her refuse the words wanting to be uttered. She glanced back to the two forms now trailing farther behind the ships. They were indistinguishable from each other at the distance, one disappearing for a long moment before resurfacing in a sputtering frenzy.

She looked back to Grimmjow, her voice lowering another notch as she dared not draw attention from the crew above them. "Please, Grimmjow," she breathed. "Please?"

For a moment he was going to snap the answer, bellow his response to her preposterous notion of aiding her former enemies. Instead he felt his ire raising a notch even as he reached for one of the corkwood rounds.

He tied one end of the thick rope to a bulwark ring under the rail. "You know they'll let Schiffer and the whole damn crew out if they make it back aboard."

Orihime nodded, her hopes inching a little as she watched him secure a double knot on the corkwood preserver. She looked to the core of men hanging from the rigging. Most of the sails around them were tattered and blowing freely in the rising breeze. "It won't matter too much, Captain," she said, swallowing part of the relief she felt. "The sails are cut; the ship is crippled."

He nodded, glancing at her bare feet as her toes flexed as the ship tossed leeward. He looked up to see her eyes on the scrape at his shoulder. He mumbled a curse and looked back to the two small girls sinking into the shimmering blue of the water. He heaved the corkwood round between the ships, pulling Orihime out of the way when the rope threatened to snag her ankle.

"The rest is up to them," he told her.

She watched as the current made between the ships carried the corkwood preserver back, slowly, to the floundering forms that had ceased to cry out. Grimmjow looked to one of the temporary gangplanks that Ulquiorra's men had set between the ships. They were shifting despite the stay ropes tied between the ships, and the shortest plank moved along the rails as the _Midori_, now slower with less sail power, began to fall behind _The Pantera's_ speed. A few seconds later the plank became off-kilter and fell into the water below.

"Time to go back, Maid Inoue," Grimmjow said, taking her arm and looking to the nearest free hanging stout rope that was long enough to reach _The Pantera's_ deck. He wrapped a hand around it, testing its anchored knot at the pole above.

Her eyes were on one of the half-drowned figures in the water as it made desperate splashes toward the bobbing round of corkwood. She looked up at Grimmjow. "Thank you."

He shook his head. "Why did you want to spare Schiffer from the whipping? What's between you two?"

She sighed, eyes on the scrape at his shoulder that had ceased to bleed, the injury minor compared to others she'd tended on him. "Nothing, Grimmjow."

"Good." His arm swept around her and he held her close in an embrace that made her lose her breath as he made a lunge for _The Pantera_. Before she had time to wrap her arms around his neck or even debate thoughts of falling into the water between the ships, they touched down on _The Pantera's_ deck.

She sighed as her feet met the deck boards, surprised at the disappointment that rushed her when Grimmjow's arm dropped from around her. She looked up as his hand gripped the rope tighter.

"Go back to the cabin," he said, a hint of a grin coming to his face at the flush touching her cheeks. "Lock the door. We'll be finished on the _Midori_ soon."

She nodded, and watched him swing back to the other ship. For a brief moment her eyes rose to the sails now hanging in ribbons, uselessly flapping in the increasing wind. Another gangplank fell into the water between the ships. She glanced back to where the rope with the corkwood life preserver now towed two struggling forms behind the _Midori_ in the bubbly water.

Orihime glanced to Grimmjow standing mid ship on the _Midori_. She nodded to him and turned to _The Pantera's_ quarterdeck stair, sighing in relief, trying to ease down the pulse fluttering in her veins.

A smile crossed her face as the heat of the closed up office and bedchamber met her below deck. For a confusing, surprising moment she felt as if she were coming back to home.

She shook the feeling, chiding herself as another blush threatened her cheeks.

A silly thought.

* * *

**Authors' Note:**_** Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story!**_


	12. Chapter 12

Orihime awoke the next morning before day had begun. The cabin bedchamber was dim and quiet, _The Pantera_ riding easily on the rolling sea beneath it, a movement that had lulled Orihime to sleep that night after Ulquiorra's failed raid.

She slowly sat up and pushed her hair from her face, detangling the auburn tresses with her fingers. Grimmjow had availed his comb to her, but she was still sheepish about using it. She glanced to the curtain pulled across the doorway to the office. It was always closed in the morning, and she was becoming more trusting that no one would walk in on her as she dressed for the day.

"You wouldn't believe it, Tatsuki," she murmured, sighing as the scent of the sea drifted in through the half open windows. "It's not like we heard. He's not like all the stories we heard." She frowned a little, mind sifting through a few of the encounters she'd witness between Grimmjow and his fellow pirates. "Well, not _exactly_ like the stories."

She got out of bed and straightened the coverings, plumping the set of pillows, blushing a twinge as always when she thought of how greedy it looked for her to have taken not only Grimmjow's bed but also both pillows.

She found a dress that had dried out from the hamper of clothes from the _Bleeding Sister._ It was a sleeveless lilac frock, the cotton material spotted at one hem from saltwater, and didn't look like something she thought a pirate captain - even a female one - would wear. She slipped off her night slip and pulled the thin material over her head.

_Maybe even a pirate captain had a few soft moments_, she thought, smiling as she settled the lilac skirt around her. It made her mind wander to thoughts of Nel. She wondered more about the two pirate women, and how Nnoitra fit into the picture. It seemed to her that no one had a good relationship with the tall, smirking captain of the _Bleeding Sister_.

She went to the washstand and combed her hair into passable tangles, feeling the timidity creep back as it had every morning for the last week when she looked into the small mirror over the basin. She'd never shared quarters with anyone since her brother had died - not even Tatsuki - and _this_ was very different than life with Sora had been.

Actually, Grimmjow spent little time in the bedroom, shaving occasionally and a few meals at the table. She set the comb on the stand and went to the nearby window. She unlocked the screw bolt and slid the shutter open wider.

The view outside was merely of rippling blue water, the smell of the sea drifting into the warm room, bringing with it the early morning dawn. As far as she could see it was water. She smiled, inhaling deeply.

She'd seen the water before, seen the sea in port when she went with Tatsuki to trade woad at the port merchants at a few villages along the coast. It was on one such trip that Tatsuki had met Renji Abarai and struck up a tenuous romance.

Very tenuous, at times, Orihime knew. She'd never seen two such forceful temperaments together.

"He's right, Tatsuki," she breathed as she thought back on the few times Renji had described being at sea to them. "It's dangerous, but beautiful. You'd like it."

She let her eyes wander over the water for a moment longer before turning back to the still darkened room. She was up earlier than usual, and her curiosity got the better of her. She kneeled at the fireplace hearth, peeking through the grate to see the office beyond.

It was empty, as usual when she dared glimpse through the fireplace. It made her curious as to where Grimmjow slept. She assumed it was in the office, and that he was up and out on deck by the time she awoke. She sat back on her heels and then stood, dusting her skirt with quick fingers. It made her feel even guiltier, the empty room.

_Not for much longer_, she thought with a heavy twinge of reluctance. She'd be returned back to Aizen and the _Five Mirrors_. She'd keep her word to the pirate captain, and Karakura would be safe.

She went to the curtain crossing the door opening and pulled it back, and then caught her breath as Grimmjow stared back at her bare-chested from the hammock stretched across the doorway.

"Agh!" she gasped. She quickly whisked the curtain shut again and recoiled a few steps into the bedroom.

"Damn, woman," Grimmjow said with a chuckle. He pulled the curtain open again and looked back at her shocked face. He swung his legs over the side of the hammock, giving her wide-eyed look of surprise a grin. "You're up early."

She nodded, chiding herself silently for her outburst. "I didn't know you were there."

He nodded and untied the hammock from one doorframe. "Where'd you think I was?"

"I don't know." She watched him roll the hammock to the corner and tie it out of the way. "I guess ... I didn't know."

He glanced over her dress, nodding appreciatively as she moved back a few steps as he entered the bedchamber. "You fill out Halibel's clothes well. Not many women can."

Orihime didn't know whether to comment or not at the remark, so she kept silent, trailing him a few steps as he went to the rack of hooks at the wall and picked out a shirt. She'd just opened her mouth to inquire about the ship's course, but no words came out, instead her mouth hanging open.

He turned, his back to her as he shrugged on the tan shirt, but not before she'd seen the thick lines crossing his broad back. Even in the brief glimpse she knew they were the marks from a whip. She wasn't sure how many there were, enough to know they were no accident, and that they weren't more than a few months old.

She snapped her mouth shut as he turned to look at her. He frowned at her dismay, leaving the few buttons unfastened at his chest.

"You look like you swallowed a bug, Orihime," he said as he went to the washstand. He poured the pitcher of water into the basin and replaced it back under the stand and found a straight razor in the smaller drawer beneath it. He looked to her, waiting for her to speak.

She didn't want to ask about the marks on his back, but wanted to know more about them, especially since his most recent prison sentence had been from her ex-fiancé's family. She watched him turn and lean over the basin, angling his chin at the small mirror above it.

Her eyes went to the scar lining his jaw, again forcing down her curiosity. She looked to his reflection in the mirror, seeing his eyes on her.

"Schiffer ever ask you to patch up the scar on his neck?" he asked. He tapped the razor in the basin of water, watching her in the mirror as she shook her head.

"I can't heal scars."

"Did he know that?"

"We never talked about it," she said. He looked back to the mirror, drawing the razor's edge across his cheek. She watched, eyes on the nape of his neck just below the blue hair. "He said Nel used to captain the _Bleeding Sister_ when it was the _Little Sister_."

He nodded, rinsing the blade again. "Before she went idiot."

Orihime's thoughts turned to the busty woman who had helped her in the belly of the leaking ship under Nnoitra's command. "But she's not an idiot. She's under a spell."

His eyes shot to her in the mirror, and then he wiped the damp side of his face with a cloth and turned to look at her. "You know that for certain? How?"

She nodded. "I saw it. She's under curse stitching. I saw them at the back of her neck," she said, awaiting his reaction. When he only frowned, she continued. "They're stitches made under a spell by someone who knows the procedure. They subtract knowledge, a year for every stitch."

Grimmjow set the cloth on the side of the basin and stepped closer to her, his frown turning darker. "A spell? How many years?"

"Fourteen, I think. It was dark in the ship's hold, and I couldn't see very well," she explained, breathing easier when she saw his developing ill mood wasn't for her.

His eyes narrowed on her. "Can she be restored to being a full woman again?"

She nodded quickly, smiling a bit. "All she needs is to have the stitching removed, and she should be fine. She'll have some memory loss and a headache, but she'd be okay."

He grinned, bringing more of a smile from her. "She'd be mad as hell. Can you do something like that?"

She nodded, warming to the idea of restoring Nel to herself. "Anyone can do it."

Part of the frown came back to his face and he turned back to his shaving as a bell marking the hour rang out on deck. "But you're not interested in doing it yourself."

"Oh, well, I thought I'd be back on the _Five Mirrors_ by then," she said slowly, watching as he drew the razor across his cheek. "Will we see the _Bleeding Sister_ before finding Captain Aizen?"

"I doubt it." He glanced to her as her eyes went to his back. "It wouldn't be hard to find Nnoitra."

She looked to him in the mirror.

He carefully shrugged as he shaved. "He'll patch the _Sister_ and probably head on down to Blue Towers - where he's supposed to be - and meet up with Captain Halibel for the southern ports."

She nodded, sighing shallowly.

"That'd put Nel right along with Tia - Captain Halibel - and they'd make short work of Nnoitra," he said with a chuckle, "especially after you've restored Nel to her proper self."

"But we'd be late meeting Captain Aizen," she murmured, thinking aloud.

"You could delay going back to him."

She frowned as she watched his reflection in the mirror, thoughts volleying between the choices. "I'm afraid of what he'll do to Karakura, Captain." He sent her a sharp look and she nodded, and said, "Grimmjow."

"That's better." He rinsed the blade and then wiped the other side of his face with the cloth from the stand. "I wouldn't take him at his word if I were you, Orihime," he said, no humor in his tone. "Underneath all that slick exterior he's worse than most pirates."

She looked to the floor, trying to find the best words to describe her dilemma, but a knock came to the open doorway. Both she and Grimmjow looked there to see Brigger carrying her breakfast tray.

"On the table," Grimmjow said to the boy.

"Yes, Captain."

Orihime watched the boy place the tray on the small table, her eyes naturally going to the deformed hand he hid.

Grimmjow dismissed the boy, his attention on Orihime. He saw the hesitation in her face, the indecision in her eyes easily read. He spent a few seconds deciding on how best to magnify her doubts about Aizen without sounding as honest as he felt. "What Aizen says when he wants something and the promises he keeps later are two different things," he said. "Karakura isn't a coastal town. It's safer than most," he added. "If he loses you as an example of his goodwill, he'll find another way to show his façade of mercy."

She sighed, nodding as he watched her. She looked to the plate on the table, and then slowly back to Grimmjow.

He recognized the vacillation flitting through her eyes, but didn't voice the few words he was certain would decide her mind. "Think about it, Orihime."

She nodded, smiling a little as he did.

* * *

Orihime did think about it. She thought about it all that morning and into the afternoon, through the swelteringly hot day and into the muggy evening. _The Pantera_ sat on the dark blue waters of early nightfall, the sails barely rippling as they pushed the ship at a meager pace across the smooth seas.

She stood at the quarterdeck rail looking out over the waters beneath the falling dusk. The day had been hot, the air unstirring, the crew of the ship restless. Most had spent their frustrations arm wrestling or betting at dice, but now there was only muted laughter as a warbling song sung solo from the none-too-talented shantyman began at the foredeck.

Orihime sighed as she listened to the shaky lyrics she figured sounded better when drunk, and pulled her wrap closer around her shoulders. It was a stray breeze that crossed the deck, a welcome draft after the hot day, and the shawl was more out of modesty than anything else. She'd taken to the quarterdeck where she was partially blocked by a stack of crates against one rail at the main deck.

It wasn't a real wrap, not in the fashionable sense, but a large scarf Grimmjow had found for her among an old crate of plunder they'd taken off another ship a few months ago. She pulled the purple and blue brocade closer, her fingers toying with the fringed edges that were weighted with tiny beads of lapis lazuli and rice-shaped freshwater pearls. She was quite certain it was a tablecloth, but it passed for a shawl.

A timid mist of rain started, the air promising to lighten the damp heat that pressed on the ship. Orihime breathed in the shy attempt at rain. It was just as warm as the air, the drops barely making spots of impact of the waters at the ship hull's waterline.

She wished it would sprinkle instead of merely tease rain.

Grimmjow's words from the morning had been on her mind all day, enticing her to stall her return to Aizen. It wasn't all the temptation of returning her favor to Nel that made her consider the delay. It wasn't all the very real possibility that Captain Sousuke Aizen wouldn't keep his promise of leaving untouched Karakura, either, she knew.

She refused to blush at the hint of an idea why she was tempted to postpone fulfilling her responsibility to Aizen. They were silly thoughts, some of the ideas traipsing across her mind lately, and she knew it. She blamed the salty air.

A shout and a laugh went up from the crew at the fore of the ship and she looked between the crates to see the shantyman had finished his song and a dozen men were back to playing dice, kneeling at the deck. One man was grinning triumphantly as he collected his winnings from another disgruntled-looking pirate across from him. She glanced to where Grimmjow and Cat were watching the game from the port rail. She could see the rolled chart in one of Grimmjow's hands, and it made her reluctant to continue her train of reasoning.

Her thoughts naturally returned to their conversation earlier. She could admit she didn't want to go back - not yet - but the reasons behind it weren't quite as clear. She took a deep breath of the damp air, smiling at the taste. It was unlike any air she'd had in Karakura. She looked out across the darkening waters, in no particular direction, seeing no landmark on the horizon.

"Not seasick, are you?"

Grimmjow's voice jolted Orihime into a flinch and a yelp. He chuckled at her start, stepping nearer to the rail beside her as the breeze picked up in force, bringing with it larger drops of rain.

"No." She pulled the shawl ends closer around her, eyes going back to him.

A gust of wind swept across the quarterdeck, this time catching the edge of her wrap and flipping it from her shoulder. Grimmjow caught the corner of the scarf as it dragged to the deck boards. He pulled it closer around her shoulder as her hands clutched at the ends, fingers embedded in the beaded fringe.

"You don't get sick at sea," he noted, nodding. "That's good."

"I like the sea," she said in a satisfied exhale.

"You've been on a lot of ships in your short time at sea, Orihime."

"I like ... some better than others," she said, voice dropping as she stopped herself from completing her original thought. A grin started across his face, and she hurriedly added, "I didn't like being below deck on Captain Jiruga's ship."

He nodded. "Understandable." He watched her attention go back out across the water. "If you're looking for Karakura, it's that way."

Orihime looked to where he pointed in a more westerly direction. She nodded as his arm draped over her shoulders, anchoring the shawl at her back. "How long will it take to reach the _Five Mirrors_?"

He sighed, watching her gaze across the water. "Three days, maybe four. He likes to prowl the seaboard to inspect our handiwork. Starrk's supposed to be sacking the upper coast towns, but he's got a tendency to loiter. Schiffer was supposed to meet him there eventually - after he escorted you to Las Noches - but that's all changed now." He felt her shoulder move beneath his arm as she turned her neck to see further north.

There was nothing to see, not much in the falling darkness amid the increasing rain. He watched her look north, seeing her hands grip the shawl closer as it dampened with the heavy mist turning into a sprinkle under the increasing wind.

"A few more days or a week won't matter," he said, his voice dropping as he leaned to her ear. "Aizen probably hasn't got any idea you're here, or that Schiffer and Nnoitra have failed in their duties." He chuckled as she looked up at him. "Me, too. Halibel is on her own in the southern ports, doing the work of three ships."

"You never carried out Captain Aizen's orders?" she asked before thinking it through. "I'm sorry, Captain. It's none of my -"

"Put off Aizen for a week, Orihime," he said, turning her so he could see her better in the darkening evening amid the sprinkling rain. "Think it over, going back to Karakura. You won't get another chance once you're aboard the _Five Mirrors_."

She looked to each of his eyes, the intent gaze he'd fixed on her willing her to nod in agreement. "It's a kind offer ... Grimmjow," she said lowly, "but I -"

"I'm not being kind," he said, grinning more as a smile seeped to her lips. "I'm being selfish."

She smiled more this time, wiping a hand across her cheek as the raindrops fell larger around them. From the main deck a few voices called rope duty as the wind picked up momentum.

"You should go below," Grimmjow said almost reluctantly, glancing briefly to the darkening distance. "The deck boards will be sloppy soon. It looks like there's more rain coming quick."

She looked where he did, but couldn't distinguish anything of the whether with her untrained eye. She pulled her shawl closer, one hand pushing a strand of wet hair from her eyes as she looked back up to him. "I like the rain. It's warm, and I don't mind."

His attention went to where the ends of the shawl were tucked into the fingers of one of her hands hand. He grinned and took her elbow in a firm hold. "We're all going to like the rain a lot more if you don't go below, Maid Inoue. Come along."

Orihime looked down at the lilac material to see the dress bodice was beginning to be more than damp and starting to cling to her chest and waist in snug contact. "Oh, no ..." she mumbled, glancing quickly to Grimmjow as he chuckled and took her by the arm to the quarterdeck stairs. "I didn't realize ..."

"Come on. Get out of the rain, Orihime."

She fought off the pink heating her cheeks as she went under Grimmjow's escort to the cabin below. The crew could be heard lashing ropes on deck and securing cargo below as the winds increased. A sudden heave of the ship made Orihime nearly misstep as they entered the cabin's outer room, but Grimmjow's hand at her elbow kept her on her feet.

"There's some wind coming," he told her as a herd of quick footfalls from above passed over the deck. "Shouldn't be too bad, but enough rain to break some of the heat." He took her to the fireplace and put her hand on the mantle, keeping her fingers trapped beneath his own as the ship made a slow dip among the growing waves. "Would you rather sit on the bed? It's centermost of the ship."

"Oh, no, I think I can manage," she said, still clutching her wrap across her damp dress.

He nodded, fingers pressing over the back of her hand in warm firmness. "I meant what I said out there, Orihime," he said, watching the doubt slip into her eyes again. "Aizen can wait. You're young. You need to think about throwing away your future to -"

A scream broke out from above, followed by a crash and a chorus of male cursing. Orihime and Grimmjow both looked to the stairway as Cat's voice rose above the rest, followed by a stunted cry from Brigger.

"Damn that boy," Grimmjow muttered, hand closing over Orihime's tighter until he realized what he was doing. He released her frailer fingers. "Stay here."

She nodded as he left the room and bolted up the stairway. From above she heard little, mostly the rising wind and the slap of free sails and ropes as the crew raced to fasten them as the storm neared. Cat's voice could be heard, and then someone called for the ship's surgeon. She strained to hear more, but the previously calm evening was now cluttered with a sudden pelting of rain.

She looked to the window behind the desk as the open shudders allowed the water to wash in under the outburst. She moved behind the desk and chair and slid the shudders, but not before seeing a wave rolled in from the south. It wasn't a huge wave, she determined, but enough to feel the impact when it hit the side of the ship. She'd just locked the shudders closed when the ship jolted from the force.

Orihime grabbed the back of the desk chair, her wet feet slipping on the floorboards. She hurried to the bedroom where the window was letting in a good amount of rain, and was greeted by a spray from a second wave. She sputtered and caught her breath as the cold water drenched her dress and face. She wiped her hair from her eyes and forced the shudders closed, bolting them as another wave hit.

She coughed a little, tucking her wet hair behind one ear as it hung heavily from her hairpin, glad that Grimmjow had made her leave the quarterdeck when he had. She looked down at her clinging dress where the darker purple material was matted to her chest and waist. She was tying the shawl across herself when she looked up to see Grimmjow in the open doorway.

He wasn't happy. He nodded to her. "Get out of those clothes before you get sick."

She nodded, looking past him when she heard a low groan from the first room.

"Brigger," he said before she could speak. "He's mangled his hand in the rigging. Conveniently," he added dryly as a look of horror claimed her face. "Change your dress and then come out here."

"Yes, Captain."

This time he left without correcting her.

By the time Orihime had found a dry dress and changed into it, the quick storm had almost played itself out. She could feel the ocean level out beneath the ship as she joined Grimmjow and the cabin boy in the first room at the desk.

Brigger looked guilty as he sat at the front of the desk cradling his arm to his chest. He was soaked, a look of pain on his face as he glanced guiltily to Orihime. She stepped closer to inspect the boy's arm, and then looked to Grimmjow.

"It seems like Brigger's found a way to get his hand healed despite my orders," he said, eyes on the boy.

Brigger frowned, holding his arm closely.

"Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't knowingly hurt his hand," Orihime said, hoping her own doubts weren't obvious.

Grimmjow mumbled a few curses as he retrieved the chair from behind the desk and set it before Brigger. "Well, boy? Did you?"

Orihime looked from him to the boy. She could see the hesitancy in Brigger's face, even more than the pain. To her surprise, he nodded.

A dark look crossed Grimmjow's face, and Orihime immediately came to Brigger's defense. "Oh, but I'm sure he wouldn't -"

"An honest answer," Grimmjow said, nodding, his pointed stare on the boy. "Is it worth it to you to mangle a hand for a mere chance at having it healed?"

The boy nodded, this time with a grunt at the movement. "I didn't ask any of the crew, Captain, like you said."

Grimmjow stood behind the empty chair, looking from the boy to Orihime. He sighed and nodded to her. "Can you heal it?"

She gave Brigger a small smile, relived at Grimmjow's level attitude. "We can try."

The exam of the hand was worse than Orihime thought it would be. She sat down in the chair facing Brigger, feeling Grimmjow leaning over the chair back behind her. It took a moment for her to ease the boy's hand from his chest for her first clear look at the damage.

The deformed fingers were broken in several spots and the hand bent at the wrong angle at the wrist, with bruising and swelling already taking hold. She kept her eyes on the hand in hers despite the muted whimpers from the boy, inspecting the new injuries to the already maligned bones. The room grew dim in the evening light and Grimmjow lit an oil lamp and placed it on the desk near Orihime. He turned up the wick as she sat back in the chair and looked to him as she finished examining the crippled hand.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Brigger sat closer to the edge of his chair, anticipating her answer.

She didn't want to say it, even when she knew it was what the boy wanted. Her fingers loosened on Brigger's palm as she looked to Grimmjow. "It's broken in a few places," she said slowly. "A few are in spots that have a good chance at helping it heal correctly." She looked to Brigger as he grinned a little in hope. She glanced back to Grimmjow. "There are a few places that could have a good chance," she continued, taking a breath, "if they were broken now."

Grimmjow understood immediately what she didn't want to express. "Places that aren't broken now?"

She nodded, feeling Brigger's hand tug in hers.

Grimmjow's stare sharpened on her. "I don't think so," he said after a few seconds.

"Please, Captain Jaegerjaquez," the boy pleaded, his voice cracking as he spoke. "Please? I promise I'll serve out my time double. Triple even, if she says it can -"

"It _might_," Grimmjow emphasized. He looked to Orihime. "Is that right?"

She nodded, reluctant to push her fortune at his good graces and against what little she knew of his temper.

For a long moment he stared at her, and then his attention went to the boy's broken and limp hand in hers. He growled a couple of curses. "Where, exactly?"

No one wanted the correct bones broken by Grimmjow more than Brigger. His fingers and hand were already throbbing and maligned, his voice beginning to shake as he made a few comments as Orihime indicated to Grimmjow the two spots in the injured hand that could possibly heal correctly - if broken.

Orihime didn't envy the boy's position. The chance at having a hand being made whole was appealing, especially at such a young age.

She didn't envy Grimmjow's decision to accommodate the request, either. She'd had a few moments when she thought that - being a pirate - the blue-haired captain wouldn't blink twice at breaking a few necessary bones to aid the cabin boy.

But as he took her seat in the chair across from Brigger and his hands closed over the boy's smaller wrist, Orihime realized it was going to bother him a great deal.

She excused herself from the room and went to the bedroom to collect what she thought she could use for a splint. She spent a few moments sorting through the contents of the sea chest at the foot of the bed, wishing she knew more about splints and broken bones than she did. The room was heating to mugginess again as the storm had passed, taking with it most of the cooler air and leaving the shut-up rooms to warm again. She unbolted a window and let in the night air. Out it she could see the dark seas shifting, _The Pantera_ now riding the gentle swells again rather than tossing over the larger waves.

There was a cry from the other room, and she flinched, knowing what brought it. There was a loud snap, and then another, followed by Brigger's anguished cry. Orihime swallowed down the ill feeling in her throat. She felt strangely chilled as she considered the boy's plight, and her part in encouraging it.

Grimmjow appeared in the open doorway and looked to her, his expression stony. "He's ready."

By the time Orihime took her seat before Brigger again he'd had two drinks. She figured they were strong, judging from the slight wobble he had and the smell of brandy coming from him.

She set her supplies on the table, among them the few pieces of flat, smooth planks Grimmjow had rummaged from the fireplace rack. She looked to Brigger's hand clenched around the glass near the nearly empty bottle of brandy and then to the boy's ashen face. He was perspiring freely, his breath shallow as he looked to her.

"Are you all right?" she asked. It wasn't the right question to ask, and she knew that, but she wanted to say something.

He nodded, his fingers shaky around the glass.

"You're going to need more than that thread," Grimmjow said from her side. He nodded to the thin spool of thread she'd found in the sea chest in the bedroom. "I'll get you some stronger twine from the boatswain."

"Oh, thank you. That would be good," she said, grateful he'd found his own reason to leave the cabin.

Grimmjow gave her a brief look as she sat down and took Brigger's hand into her lap, and then he left up the stairway to the main deck.

She turned to the boy across from her. His eyes were glazed and beginning to droop. She smiled, hoping to put him at more ease. "You're very brave, Brigger," she said, pushing up his sleeve to reveal more of the damaged hand and wrist. The skin was hot beneath her touch, a few places already bruising in new spots. She looked to the roll of cloth on the table and carefully set his hand on her knee.

"He's angry at me," he said, not clarifying whom, but not needing to, either.

"If he were too angry with you he wouldn't have done it," she said. She unrolled the cloth and smoothed the wrinkles from one end. She looked back to him. "Do you feel warm? Feverish?" She put her fingers to his forehead, carefully collecting a few loose strands of his dark hair as she pushed his bangs out from his face. His forehead was warm, a cold sweat just beneath his hairline. "I don't think you'll have infection. The skin isn't broken."

He nodded, and then downed the last of his brandy in a gulp.

She took the moment to set the few strands of hair on the end of the unrolled cloth, pleased that he didn't notice them. She put a hand to her hairpin and reattached it at her temple, deftly pulling an auburn strand of hair away as she lowered her hand, and then flinched as Grimmjow finished the last step of the stair.

His stare narrowed on her for a moment, eyes following her fingers as she let the strand of hair rest on the cloth beside the few she'd taken from Brigger. He looked to the boy.

"How is he?"

She nodded and sat straighter in the chair. "He's doing okay," she said, trying to see his face better in the lamp's light. "Oh, thank you."

He handed her the ball of coarse twine, looking to the cloth where the strands of hair lay. He stood behind Brigger's chair and looked back to Orihime. "Can you heal him?"

She bit her lower lip, watching his close study of her face. "I think so. Thank you for helping him, Captain."

Grimmjow nodded.

It took ten minutes for Orihime to make the splint over the damaged fingers, hand and wrist, and with Grimmjow's aid she straightened the boy's crippled fingers across the small plank and sandwiched it between another plank, keeping the hand pressed flat. It was a painful process, and Brigger finished the bottle of brandy in that time. Grimmjow got him another.

Within fifteen minutes the boy's arm was splinted and wrapped, and Brigger was feeling little of the pain shooting through his arm due to his binge on the brandy. Cat joined them as Orihime finished, the first mate's grin putting a different slant on the tense situation.

"I see he got you to do it," he said to Grimmjow. He nodded to Orihime before looking to Brigger half slumped at the table. "Can't hardly blame him, can you?"

Grimmjow shook his head. "I guess not. Anyone on the horizon?"

"No, Captain. All clear," Cat said, shaking his head at the cabin boy who was nearly sleeping while still sitting up. "You want him out of here?"

Grimmjow glanced to the boy. "Take him below."

"Aye, Captain." Cat bent and slung Brigger's good arm over his shoulder and cautiously heaved him out of the chair. "Let's go, boy."

Orihime watched the first mate and boy make their ungainly progress up the short stairs, the younger mumbling something incoherent, his splinted hand dangling at his side. She looked to Grimmjow, who'd been watching her.

"I should have made him a sling," she said, sighing.

"Tomorrow," he said, looking to each of her eyes. "You did enough for tonight, Orihime."

A small smile crossed her lips. "Thank you for ... well, for doing what you did. Grimmjow."

He nodded, stepping closer to her as she began winding the extra twine back onto the ball. "You really don't need your bag to heal, do you?"

Her hands stilled on the ball in front of her as he said it, her breath stopping as he put a hand to the side of her head. His fingers pulled at a few strands of hair, separating them from the bulk of tresses that framed her face. His hand followed them to her shoulder as she looked to him. She wished she could read more of the impassive look in his eyes.

"... No."

He nodded, his fingers twisting the soft strands, watching the auburn turn shades of amber in the flickering lamplight. She tried to brace herself against nodding at the question he hadn't asked, but she did anyway. His fingers drew along the tresses to the very ends, his eyes studying her face, and this time they'd lost their detachedness.

He looked to the edges of soft hair that curled over his fingers and then to her. For a moment his eyes dropped to her lips, watching as she tried to still the slight nervousness in them. His hand moved from her hair.

"You can retire at your leisure, Orihime," he said, gaze resting on her lips for a lingering moment before going back to her eyes. "I'm going to check on your patient."

She nodded, swallowing down the pulse that had suddenly quickened in her throat. "Thank you."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Her hands clutched the ball of twine tightly as he left up the stairs.

She closed her eyes momentarily, calming her heartbeat that had leapt as his fingers pulled through her hair. She took a deep breath and set the twine on the desk.

Above she heard Grimmjow's voice on deck as he spoke to the lookout on watch duty. She opened her eyes and went into the bedroom, wondering if he'd guessed at her secret.

Wondering more, too.

* * *

**Authors' Note: **_Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing!_


	13. Chapter 13

Ichigo rubbed his shoulder tenderly, wincing at the movement as he sat on a crate on the main deck of a ship with no name. He glared at its captain, a mountain of a man who'd tested him on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day, for the last five days.

Across from him was Ikkaku lounging on a pile of thick coiled ropes beneath the relentless heat of summer sky. The bald man laughed at Ichigo's discomfort.

Ichigo's eyes shot to him. "I don't know why you're laughing. I beat you, too," he reminded.

Ikkaku shrugged, toes stretching over the deck boards. "You're just lucky, rich boy. Nothing more."

They heard a heave from the ship's port rail, but no one looked to where Uryuu was retching his breakfast overboard. He'd been disposing of nearly every meal in the same manner since they'd set sail.

Ichigo looked to where Rangiku stood at the quarterdeck consulting a sextant and the scorching sun overhead. Chad had one eye half open on the navigator, but other than that was nearly asleep from his slouch at the base of the main derrick. Ichigo shook his head at the blacksmith's apprentice. Of all of them, Chad had gotten his sea legs easiest.

"You're not the only one looking for an answer," Renji said, noting Ichigo's wandering attentions. He was a few feet away from Ikkaku, taking his time as he wrapped his sword hilt with a new leather strap that ended in red tassels. "Aizen's made a lot of enemies outside the palace. Lot of people wouldn't mind if the emperor gave up whatever the hell Aizen wants to leave the coast in peace."

Ichigo scowled at him. There'd been no mistaking the red-haired crewman's mood for anything but what it was, and adding to that was the fact that he knew of Orihime's stance on his unsaid relationship with Rukia Kuchiki.

"What he wants doesn't matter. It's not his, and being strong-armed into handing any part of the royal treasure over is not an option," Ichigo defended. As he spoke he saw Zaraki look his way. A small giggle came from behind Ichigo. He knew who it was, but turned anyway to see Yachiru leaning on the rail.

She held a sticky piece of honeycomb out to him. "Want some?" she asked with a wider smile on her bubbly face.

He eyed the half-devoured wax that seemed to have melted onto her hand from the sun's heat. It was only the most recent of such offerings. "No, you eat it."

She frowned at him. "I'm trying to be nice, pumpkin head."

Ikkaku's eyes narrowed on Ichigo. "She's isn't nice to everyone, boy."

Yachiru threw the bald man a sour look as she leaned closer to Ichigo, breathing heavily on him as he recoiled slightly. "Why do you want to find a girl just so she can tell you she doesn't want you anymore?"

Ichigo's eyes shifted to Renji at the question, but he looked back to the pink-haired girl as he answered. "Because I don't think she'd want to run off with anyone like this Aizen fellow."

"But if she does?" Ikkaku asked.

Ichigo shook his head and began to answer, but Zaraki's hulk loomed over the small group, shadowing them all.

"Then we change her mind and beat Aizen to a pulp," Zaraki said with a chuckle that was felt in the deck boards. "The sea can do without one more pirate. If we find Aizen, we take your girl back, and then we kill the bastard. That's what Yamamoto's navy has been trying to do for months."

"What do you mean _if_ we find him?" Rangiku's voice broke over the deck as she skipped down the quarterdeck stairs to join them. She pushed her hair out of her face, giving Ichigo a smile, waving a rolled chart at him. "We'll find him, Captain."

Zaraki nodded, giving her a livid grin. "_When_ we find him."

She nodded and sighed, a movement that strained her already snug shirt into testing capacity and made the men around her forget the topic at hand. "Hey, up here, boy," she said when she saw Ichigo's eyes settle to her bosom.

He obediently looked up as Ikkaku snickered.

"You get your fiancée back and then you've got two girls," she said, smiling at his frown. "What're you going to do then?"

Renji watched Ichigo closely as he knotted off the leather strap at the sword hilt. "Yeah, what then?"

It was a good question, and one that Ichigo had wondered himself. "She's dissolved the engagement, that much I know, but I want to know for certain she's done with me."

Renji grumbled something no one wanted to clarify, and Uryuu turned his head to look at them. He was going to speak, but part of his breakfast was begging for passage, so he simply hung his head back over the rail.

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, sighing as he leaned at the rail. It was one thing to know Orihime Inoue was to marry into a wealthy family, but quite another to lose a friend to a pirate captain. He squinted out over the cobalt waters that lay between the ship with no name and where Rangiku said Captain Aizen was most likely to be found.

Uryuu sighed. Somewhere beyond those watery miles was the sweet girl whose sunny smile had always cheered his otherwise dour mood, making living a normally banned existence in an unwelcome town bearable.

He envied any man whom Orihime would choose, but thinking it could be this Aizen, that was unacceptable.

* * *

_The Pantera_ was three days north of the ship with no name, making moderate progress, but not for lack of wind. Grimmjow was in no hurry to find the _Five Mirrors_.

He was, however, anxious to replace the hole the twenty missing men made in his crew. It made choosing his fights more difficult, and he was none too eager to pick a battle before meeting Aizen again, anway. He stood on _The Pantera's_ main deck and looked to where Orihime sat with Brigger at the quarterdeck stairs. He had to give the boy begrudging credit for risking further damage to his hand for a chance to have their passenger heal it, but he'd made it clear not to chance it again.

Providing the crippled hand had not healed correctly.

Grimmjow knew it would be. He'd seen Orihime's handiwork, and while it was fascinatingly effective, it also meant a little less time with her undivided attention on a more personal level.

In hindsight, he'd have rather had a lengthier healing process if it meant -

"Captain, we're listing north again," Cat's voice broke through Grimmjow's drifting thoughts.

There was amusement in the first mate's tone, and Grimmjow looked to him. "What are you laughing at, Cat?" he growled.

The first mate shook his head, sending a quick eye to where Orihime rose from the stairs and gave the cabin boy a smile before he left for his duties. "You know we lean starboard when we're lagging, Captain. The ship don't like sharing your attention with the leggy kind."

Grimmjow gave him a pointed look, one that under most circumstances meant a reprimand, but Cat only chuckled. "_The Pantera's_ a jealous mistress. You told me that yourself when we were in prison. A woman onboard makes for split attention."

Grimmjow looked to the half-filled sails above. The sky shone warm down on him and the crew, making tempers short until an extra ration of brandy had quieted their slow progress west. "She'll have to get used to another set of footsteps on her deck," he said lowly, looking back to Cat. "You think I can't divide my time?"

Cat shrugged, watching Orihime ascend to the quarterdeck. "She's staying?"

Grimmjow wanted to say _yes_ and watch the next grin on the first mate be one he'd have to knock off his face, but he didn't get that satisfaction. He put one hand to the hilt of the sword at this side, eyes following Orihime as she stood at the rail and looked across the sea to the horizon south of them. "Not yet, Cat."

* * *

Orihime was oblivious to the conversation behind her that afternoon. She spent most of the day at the quarterdeck, sitting on a crate and watching the few dolphins top the water a furlong away, their silvery white bodies arching over the shallow waves of sea that rippled past _The Pantera_ as she bound west.

She was still there as afternoon gave way to the rest of the day, not wanting to spend a minute less in the cabin than she had to. She didn't know what life awaited her on Aizen's ship, and she wanted to capture the feeling of warm breeze on her skin in case she found herself in a cell below deck for the future.

She looked to the short stair at the main deck as Grimmjow appeared there. He joined her to look out over the shifting blue waters that stretched for miles.

She watched his eyes take in the expanse of sea before they went to her.

"Your patient is doing well," he said, nodding to where Brigger was moving among the crew lazing at the deck. "You think he's healed enough to remove the splint?"

She nodded, reading the knowing look in his gaze. "Yes, Captain. Grimmjow."

He grinned a little. "The splint and wrappings for two days, all for show, is it?"

She sighed, feeling a little less guilty. "Yes. I suppose it is."

He watched her glance back over the water. "I guess it's necessary."

Her eyes went to him, resting on the scar at his jaw line that faced her. "How long until we find it?"

She didn't have to specify the ship by name. They both knew. She looked to the sea before he could answer.

"How many more days of freedom, Orihime?" he asked, watching her eyes lower to the water capping white against the hull. "Is that what you're really asking?"

She didn't look at him, instead lifting one shoulder in half a shrug. "I suppose so."

"How precise of an answer do you want?"

She looked quickly to him.

He grinned more, bringing a hint of one from her. "Aizen will be two days from the coast. We can find him within the next day or two, maybe less, depending on how far he's wandered from his usual courses." He leaned his back to the rail beside her, bending slightly closer to her so his voice wouldn't carry to the main deck. "He doesn't know you're missing. Schiffer will eventually tell him, but not until he patches the _Midori_ and gets a story out Menoly and Loly. Nnoitra won't be braying to Aizen about his role in it, either."

They both looked to the quarterdeck stair as Brigger climbed it. The boy looked between them for a doubtful moment, and turned to leave, but Grimmjow waved him over.

He looked to Orihime. "You think your patient is ready to be unbound?"

She nodded, her smile brightening from thoughts of her future as she looked from him to the cabin boy.

She settled at a crate as Brigger met her, his short bow to Grimmjow barely a thought as he sat on the pile of rope beside Orihime.

Grimmjow watched as she made the usual comments any physician would, the guarded words against any promises of complete recovery, the cautions of newly mended bones and wounds. She took Brigger's hand in her lap, the plank taking up much of her periwinkle skirt as she attempted untying the twine securing the splint.

Grimmjow took the knife from his back holster and reached it handle first to her.

"Oh, thank you," she said, taking the long-bladed dagger, its weight surprising her. "This will work much better." She bent over the boy's hand and carefully used it to cut the twine wrapped around the splint.

"Ship made!" a crewman called out from the bow of the ship near the bowsprit. He pointed due west before _The Pantera_.

Orihime looked up to see most of the deckhands follow the pirate to the fore of the vessel.

Grimmjow left the quarterdeck immediately, snagging the scope at the helm as he went.

Brigger looked to Orihime as her fingers paused with the knife over his splinted hand.

"Do you think it's the _Five Mirrors_?" she asked as she watched Grimmjow cross the deck and meet the crew at the fore.

The boy looked after the pirates congregated at the ship's bow, their conversation not loud enough to be heard. "I don't think so, Maid Inoue. It might be Captain Starrk of the _Gingerback_."

"Oh." She sighed with more relief than she realized she felt. She gave the boy a small smile and looked back down at his hand. "Let's get this unwrapped, shall we?"

Her hands moved automatically, cutting through the twine and removing it from the plank and cloth wrappings, but her ears strained to hear anything that drifted back to her from the ship fore. There was nothing to hear that told her more, just the low tones of the crew and Grimmjow speaking. She gently removed the cloth from the boy's hand, trying to keep her mind focused on her work as Grimmjow's voice distinguished itself from those of the crew.

Brigger smiled when he saw his hand. The fingers were smooth and straight on the plank, frail and a bit shriveled from being bandaged for the last few days.

But they moved independently when he testily wiggled them. With a sudden urge he pulled the hand from under Orihime's fingers, holding them up to the brighter sunlight for study.

The newly restored fingers were thinner, paler, seeming to belong to a younger boy, but Brigger smiled heartily at them. He closed them into a fist, surprised when no pain shot through the hand. He held it beside his good hand, estimating the smaller size and lack of muscle in the recently whole hand.

Orihime shared his grin as he sat straighter beside her. As he admired her work she looked to the front of _The Pantera_. Grimmjow watched her from the bowsprit, nodding absently to Cat as the first mate spoke.

This time the reluctant feeling that washed over Orihime as she thought about her return to the _Five Mirrors_ persisted. Her hands closed over the bandages in her lap tightly, bolstering her resolve to her future.

She shifted her gaze from Grimmjow before she revoked her decision. As ingrained as her future had been to the Kurosaki household, she knew she it was still out of her hands to spend as she pleased. Not when she'd promised Sousuke Aizen in return for him leaving Karakura untouched.

"Thank you!" Brigger was crowing for the third time, grabbing and wringing her hand with both of his in a heartfelt shake that nearly brought her off the crate. He leaped to his feet and bowed again. "Thank you! I am in your debt, Lady Inoue. Thank you!"

She smiled at him, easing her hand free as her knuckles cracked in his rigorous hold. "I'm glad you're happy, Brigger."

She glanced to Grimmjow at the fore of the ship.

At least she'd found a week of freedom before her next captivity.

She looked down to her lap as Brigger greeted Grimmjow at the short stair and showed off his healed hand. She didn't try to listen in to the boy's celebratory account of how well the fingers flexed, but she had to smile as she heard the boy's rapid-fire chatter.

Grimmjow nodded, making a few comments to Brigger before the boy bounded down the stairs in search of anyone to teach him knot-tying.

Orihime stood up as Grimmjow approached, her throat feeling as knotted as the rigging as she tried to form her query.

Grimmjow shook his head before she could speak. "Just a merchant ship. We're passing on it," he said as she stammered for her voice.

She nodded, relief flooding her as she smiled.

"Not the face of disappointment," he said with a grin.

She shook her head, smiling more. "I guess not." She looked to the north, pushing her hair from her face as the breeze flung it over her shoulder. She saw nothing, no dot of ship that could be seen with the scope, no ripple on the horizon.

Grimmjow saw the bare hope in her eyes as they scanned the empty waters. The pink on her cheeks was more than a blush. "Come below. I think you've had enough sun for one day."

* * *

It was more than enough sun, and Orihime felt it on her cheeks later that evening as she sat in the window ledge of the bedroom, the only light coming from the oil lamp at the table. In her hands was the last of Grimmjow's shirts she'd taken to mending. It needed a number of places reworked, requiring several seams repaired and other smaller rips at the sleeves.

She'd already finished the mending, but the shirt remained in her lap, her hands still on it as she looked out over the dark waters reflecting the half moon overhead. The evening brought a cooler atmosphere to the ship, and the music that floated from above was tolerable.

Her fingers absently pressed against the seam she'd newly stitched as she looked to the seagulls flying low over the water, their mirror images shining sleekly below them on the silvery water.

Grimmjow's words had played through her mind for the last few hours, more so than other evenings, and she decided it was because they'd meet Aizen within a few days, and her decision would become irreversible.

"Oh, Tatsuki," she breathed, sighing, "it seemed like the right thing to do." She wished more than ever her friend was there to give her a good talking to. Tatsuki always had an answer. Maybe not the best answer, Orihime knew, judging from the tiffs the girl had with Renji Abarai, but an answer, at least.

She looked down to the tan shirt in her hands, and with a glance to the doorway to make sure she was alone in the room, she raised it to her nose.

It smelled of the sea, of the salty air. And of him, she knew. She closed her eyes, but then quickly opened them when she heard footsteps on the first room's causeway stair.

She lowered the shirt and looked to the doorway as Grimmjow stepped in. He spotted her in the window and looked to the meager light from the oil lamp at the table.

"Too dark to sew, isn't it, Orihime?"

Before she could answer he'd went to the table and turned up the wick on the lamp. More light shed across the bedchamber.

"Oh, I'm finished," she said. She smoothed the material on her lap, straightening the wrinkles from it where she'd clutched it close.

He looked to the shirt. "Don't waste your time with that," he said as he pulled his sword from its scabbard and leaned it beside one of the chairs and set a small jar and cloth on the table top. "You've made Brigger a happy boy. Greatly appreciated, Orihime."

She smiled, folded the shirt onto her skirt, and watched him take a seat at the chair he turned to face her at the window. "He's been tying knots all afternoon. He'll wear out his fingers."

He nodded, running a hand through his hair. He reached for the sword at his side, eyes on her ankles beneath the skirt hem as she moved on the window ledge. "He made horrible knots before." He rested the sword blade across his knees and opened the cork top of the jar. "He has no excuse now. Two good hands will prove how much he's listened to instruction."

She sat back against the window frame behind her and watched as Grimmjow dipped the cloth into the jar and dabbed it along the sword's edge. For a moment he worked the fine grit against the polished metal in smooth movements that slowly brought a fine finish to the sharp edge.

When she remained silent for too long, watching him as the sword took on a gleam, he looked up to her. "So quiet?"

Her eyes flicked to his, and then back down to where his thumb rested at the sword's edge. "When you get _The Pantera _back, free and clear," she said, "you'll be finished with Captain Aizen?"

He nodded, frowning at the pout forming at her lips. "The sooner the better."

She watched his thumb move along the blade. "That will give him one less ship to use against Seireitei."

He sat back, his hand stilling on the sword. Her eyes went from the blade to him, and then to the sea out the window. "Is that what's really on your mind, Orihime?"

She shook hear head, not looking to him.

He watched the lamplight catch the strands of hair at her shoulder, for a moment making them appear a brighter amber color. Her hand grasped the shirt in her lap again as her eyes stayed on the water.

"Don't make my deal with Aizen part of your decision to go back," he said, setting the sword on the table behind him. "That's not your concern, Orihime."

She looked quickly to him as he stood up, confusion on her face for a few seconds. "Oh, no," she said, shaking her head as she released the shirt in her hands. "No. Not that, Grimmjow. I just meant that Captain Aizen wouldn't have as much force as he does with _The Pantera_. With you and your men," she said.

He stepped closer and she slipped off the window sill and held up the shirt.

"The last one," she told him.

He looked to the shirt, lifting the hem edge to see the neat row of stitches that laced one side. "You shouldn't busy yourself with this."

"I don't suppose it'll last very long," she added with a weak giggle.

She looked up at him, and then quickly to the window again, taking a step back as she pulled the shirt closer to her chest. "You'll stay at sea? You don't spend any time in port?"

He shrugged, watching from behind her at the water rippling against the current as _The Pantera_ moved westward. "Not much. Nothing on the Seireitei coast. Too many patrol ships out now. Didn't go so well last time for us," he added with a chuckle.

"Captain Jiruga," she said, frowning as she hugged the shirt against a shudder at the thought. She felt him sigh against the back of her neck.

"No; last time was the Kurosaki trial."

She caught herself before looking to him. She shook her head, her eyes dropping to the dark water nearer the ship. "He was wrong."

"It's over."

Her gaze went to the swells of waves farther out along the moon's shimmering reflection.

He put a hand to the window frame over her head, leaning closer to see her face better. "You like the sea, don't you?"

A smile came to her lips. "Yes, it's beautiful. Nothing like the sea at the harbor."

"The water's dead by the time it gets to the harbor," he said, eyes following the tresses of hair that lay over her shoulder. "You like being on _The Pantera_, Orihime?"

Now she turned her attention to him. "Oh, yes," she said, looking to his fingers as they brushed beneath a lock of hair. "I do."

"You should stay for awhile. Until we collect my crew from Halibel and you can mend Nel. I know you said anyone can do it," he said as she began to speak, "but she'd like to see you again. You should be there when she knows what's happened to her."

"But she's with Captain Jiruga, and it might take a while to find him, and ..." Her eyes lowered to his fingers as that pulled gently at the strands of auburn hair. "It might take too long, Grimmjow."

She was going to say more, but his hand dropped from the window frame as his arm came around her waist, pulling her close against his chest. His lips met hers in warm contact, firm pressure in a kiss that she returned after a brief second of surprise. She let the shirt fall from her hands, kissing him back fully as her arms went around his broad shoulders, fingers curling against the nape of his neck. The powerful embrace nearly took her off her feet, making her cling tighter to him, breath failing her as she stood on tiptoe.

"Don't go," he said after moment, letting her ease away only a few inches, seeing her eyes rise to his. A bright blush outshone her sun-spotted cheeks.

She shook her head. "I can't go back, Grimmjow."

"I'm not talking about going back," he said. His hand slid up her back, anchoring her snug against him as she sighed, fingertips just below his hairline at his neck. "Go with us to Blue Towers, and then see if you want to go back to Aizen."

She already knew the answer to that question. She shook her head again.

"Why not?"

His piercing stare demanded an answer, but she smiled at the reverberation his words made against her chest.

This time he kissed her more slowly, watching her eyelashes drop as her arms drew him nearer, the deft fragrance of citrus and sandalwood about her.

"Ship made!" Cat's voice boomed from the main deck.

Orihime jolted at the words, impulsively clutching him as she looked to the empty doorway. By the sound of the first mate's voice she knew the causeway stair was open to the deck above, but no footsteps were heard.

Grimmjow's hand cupped the back of her head, making her face him.

She knew he could feel her racing heartbeat against his chest. Her answer to his question wouldn't form, and she shook her head.

He frowned, letting his arms drop loosely around her small waist as the pounding of footsteps above were heard heading for the fore of the ship.

"Looks like the _Five Mirrors_, Captain!"

This time Cat's voice was nearer, at the edge of the stairs in the first room. Orihime looked to the doorway, and then back to Grimmjow.

"Not tonight," she said, more fear in her words than she thought there would be. "Not, not ..."

"We won't reach it tonight," he said, taking his arms from her waist and going to the table. He jammed the sword in his scabbard and looked back to where she stood at the window, her hands clasped before her in a knot. "We can't reach any ship just within scope's distance tonight, Orihime."

She sighed, swallowing down her relief.

"If it's him," he added, watching her eyes cloud with indecision as she bit her lower lip. "You don't belong with him."

She nodded numbly as he left the room. She sighed again, this time taking all the air from her lungs as she sagged against the window frame behind her. Her hand reached for the shirt she'd let fall on the sill when Grimmjow had first pulled her close.

She smiled, wrapping her arms around the tan material.

But then she closed her eyes, and the smile dimmed.

* * *

**Authors' Note:** _Thanks to everyone reading this story, and for the reviews!_


	14. Chapter 14

The sun broke across the master cabin floor early the next morning as _The Pantera_ bobbed on the gentle swells of the sea. Its warm rays reached the bed where Orihime lay, buried in the thick sheets and soft blanket as she watched the dust particles play in the streaming light.

She'd been awake for a while, since daylight, and knew when Grimmjow had left the hammock at the doorway. They'd both heard the call from Cat deck side earlier. Grimmjow had left without looking through the heavy curtain that draped across the doorway.

Orihime wished he had, just for a moment. She'd been watching, but he didn't look into the bedchamber. She'd seen slight movements of his boots beneath the bottom of the curtain, and then she heard his footsteps on the causeway stair.

She sighed and sat up, looking around the room, knowing it may be one of the last times she could.

There'd been no mistaking Cat's voice half an hour ago after the sixth bell had rung out on deck.

The _Five Mirrors_ had been spotted, unaided by scope now. She knew it was only a matter of hours.

She pushed her hair from her face, closing her eyes, trying to avoid the complications now plaguing her decision to go back to Sousuke Aizen's keep. She drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them, opening her eyes to stare unfocused at the fireplace across from her at the wall shared to the office.

She liked his kiss, the firm pressure on her lips that took her breath away, the arms that held her tighter than she'd ever been held before. She liked the smell of the sea about Grimmjow, and she even liked that she knew he was capable of breaking someone like Nnoitra in half.

"I'm such a fool, Tatsuki," she murmured, closing her eyes and sighing. She propped her elbow on her knee and set her chin in her hand, smiling contentedly at the image in her mind. It didn't take much imagination to conjure Grimmjow's face in her memory. She wanted to remember it, everything about him, for after she was back on the _Five Mirrors_ and Aizen released _The Pantera_ from his service, there would be no reason for her to see Grimmjow again.

Orihime heard a creak at the doorway and opened her eyes with a start to see him standing there, the curtain pushed to one side.

"You've got time to change your mind, maid," he said, stepping into the room.

She nodded, blushing a little as she smoothed her loose hair back, trying to brush it down with her fingers. "Good morning, Grimmjow."

His eyes fell over the folds of the slip around her, most of her figure hidden by bedclothes and her bent knees. Her body had definitely outpaced her years, that he had to admit, and it was partly that curiosity that made him reluctant to return her to his temporary employer.

He nodded to the window. "The _Five Mirrors_ is two hours away. We've raised the hail banner. They've responded, which means you've got a few hours to change your mind, Orihime."

Her eyes dropped to the floor between them, a pout pulling at her lips as she debated his words again. It was so easy to him, she thought. _The Pantera_ was his world, he took it with him; he didn't have to leave his home behind. She glanced back to him, wishing for once she had the gall to not care about duty. "I can't leave my friends open to Captain Aizen's crews, Grimmjow. I've heard what they've done to other towns and ports."

He nodded. He well knew what had been done because he and the crew of _The Pantera_ had been part of the men who had done it. He looked at the sheets as her toes moved beneath the material, tempted to take the choice of returning to Aizen away from her.

"Think about it." He looked to the doorway as sounds drifted down the stair from the deck above. "Aizen doesn't know you're here. You got some time."

She nodded, fingers interlacing with each other at the sheet.

He left out of the room then, and Orihime reluctantly got out of bed. She looked to the open starboard window. On the horizon she could see the tall outline of a ship. It was closer than she thought it would be. She bit her lower lip, looking to the worn floorboards of the room. She didn't like any of the thoughts going through her head.

She took a deep breath and stood up to dress for the day.

* * *

It was just after noon of the sweltering day when the _Five Mirrors_ was close enough for Grimmjow to distinguish Aizen at the helm. To either side of the captain stood Gin and Tousen, the last making Grimmjow want to give the line of men at _The Pantera's_ rail leave to battle.

"Permission to board, _Five Mirrors_!" he called to Aizen when they were within shouting distance.

The scores of pirates along the _Five Mirror's_ deck watched _The Pantera_ warily, awaiting any word from Aizen for the command to attack. Both crews knew the meeting of captains was amiss.

Aizen remained on the quarterdeck, eyeing the pirates of the second vessel. "You're supposed to be in Blue Towers, Captain," he said loud enough for his voice to carry across the water. "I clearly doubt you've satisfied your end of our arrangement."

Grimmjow nodded. "I want to renegotiate. A trade."

Every crewman lining both decks put hands to sword hilts, watching the opposite deck for signs of trouble.

Aizen stood straighter. "Do you now, Grimmjow? What makes you think I'm open to renegotiating?"

Grimmjow crossed to _The Panetra's_ quarterdeck rail, eyes moving over the _Five Mirror's_ crew. With twenty of his men absent among Halibel's crew he was outnumbered, and he knew it. Any sort of altercation would be a lopsided fight, at best.

"I've got your prize from Karakura Town," he said. "I want an exchange. Are you interested?"

There were a few words exchanged between Aizen and Gin that didn't carry to Grimmjow, but he read their stiffening postures well enough. At _The Pantera's_ rail Cat was watching carefully.

"How did you come into possession of such a prize?" Aizen called.

"Come aboard, and we'll discuss an exchange, Aizen," Grimmjow said. "Are you interested or not?"

Aizen nodded. "Take us closer, helmsmen, and lower the plank."

Grimmjow watched as the _Five Mirrors_ slowly eased nearer to his ship and four men hauled the gangplank into place to cross the water between the two ships. He took the short stairs to the main deck and nodded to Cat.

"Keep on guard. I'm bringing the girl up."

Cat nodded, sparing him only a brief look as he watched Aizen make ready to board.

Orihime wasn't ready when Grimmjow came down the stairs into the cabin below. She was dressed, her hair combed and her breakfast half eaten, but she wasn't ready. She'd heard the conversation called across the ships, and the knot in her stomach had tightened into a rock at the sound of Aizen's voice.

Grimmjow paused at the bottom of the stairs in the first room of the cabin. Orihime stood at the bedroom doorway, hesitant to take another step as she tried to bolster her resolve to make good on her promise to Aizen. Her answer hadn't changed in the last thirty minutes since Grimmjow had checked last on her under the pretext of bringing Brigger in for the last of his medical attention.

"Aizen's on deck," he said, taking in the fall of the maroon dress over her shape. The reluctance in her face at reuniting with her former captor not on the same par he'd seen in her with Nnoitra, but still evident. "You ready?"

She nodded, summoning her voice. "Thank you for everything, Captain. Grimmjow," she added, smiling timidly at the change in his sharp stare. She took a deep breath and met him at the bottom of the stairs. "Thank you."

He nodded, pushing her hair from her face with hard fingers, watching her eyelashes drop as she sighed. "No thanks is due, Orihime." He picked up her chin with his hand, making her face him. "Don't put Aizen back together if he gets hurt."

She smiled a little.

"I'm serious."

She nodded, holding her breath as he kissed her lightly on the lips, lingering only briefly as her hand covered his at her cheek.

He looked to her small fingers that seemed out of place on a ship of pirates – any number of pirate ships, in fact – and slipped his hand beneath her hair, gentle on her neck as he kissed her forehead, feeling her soft sigh on his chest. He drew back as voices called out above on deck.

"Let's go."

The sun was too bright in the hot sky as Orihime stood a few feet behind Grimmjow and Cat as they faced Aizen and Gin a moment later. She looked to where Tousen stood to the side, hand on his scabbard in preparation for signs of trouble.

Aizen leveled his stare on her. "It seems you've found your way off the _Midori_, Maid Inoue," he said in a voice that a bystander would have mistaken as kindly. "I suppose Captain Jaegerjaquez has an explanation for this."

Grimmjow glanced to Tousen and back to Aizen. "Schiffer wasn't able to keep her under watch. You put her back in his care, I suggest you keep your ensigns away from her."

Aizen frowned at the remark. "I see. I'll take that into consideration." He looked to Orihime for a long moment. "You have her bag, Jaegerjaquez?"

"No."

Aizen nodded. "What's your offer?"

"You release _The Pantera_ to me free and clear and you get Maid Inoue back, unharmed." Grimmjow's hand rested on his sword hilt at his waist, watching Tousen tense in his peripheral vision. "That's a better offer than you'll get form Jiruga."

Aizen's attention snapped to Orihime before going back to Grimmjow. "What does he have to do with this?"

Grimmjow ignored the details. "Have we got a deal, Aizen?"

For a moment Aizen seemed to be weighing the decision, but he nodded eventually. "I hate to lose a ship with as fine a fighting crew as _The Pantera_," he said, glancing to the men on deck, who guardedly eyed his every move. "You seem to be lacking in numbers, Captain."

Grimmjow bristled internally at the mention. Aizen was as astute a strategic mind as any on the seaboard. He'd either outsmarted or outmaneuvered a number of the king's best military men. It took precise calculation to predict his next moves – something few, including one female navigator – had a chance at accomplishing.

"Then we won't be that great a loss to your _cause_," Grimmjow reminded. "Do we have a deal?"

Aizen nodded, smiling as he looked to Orihime waiting at the stairwell rail. "Your travels are over, Maiden. Come with me now."

Grimmjow turned as Orihime crossed the deck. She glanced at him only for a moment, looking as if she would speak, but then silently lowered her head and met Aizen.

He looked her over for a moment, eyes shifting back to Grimmjow. "You took her from Jiruga's care?"

"I wouldn't call it care," Grimmjow said tightly. "She's not hurt, if that what's on your mind."

Aizen nodded. He began to speak, but Szayel's voice coasted over the breach of water from the _Five Mirrors_.

"I can escort her below," he called, smiling at his prospects. "A room at the aft, near your quarters, Captain," he said, returning Orihime's cautious look for a smile. "Allow me."

"Denied, Officer Szayel," Aizen decided, eyes still on Grimmjow. "Follow First Mate Tousen, Maid."

She nodded numbly. "Yes, Captain."

Tousen ushered Orihime across the gangplank reaching from the visiting ship, his hand on her shoulder as the crossed. She didn't look back until they stepped onto the _Five Mirror's_ deck. She glanced around at the new pack of pirates. They were dressed in the tan tunics and black pants, except for Szayel in his lavender coat, and seemed to carry more of a formal air than Grimmjow's crew had.

She passed by their ranks to the rear of the ship as Tousen directed her. It was a larger ship, wider and with a higher forecastle and quarterdeck. The snap of flapping sails and flags made her look overheard as they neared the quarterdeck stairwell. The white flag with its blue flower waved in the winds far above, seeming to mock Orihime's new plight as she put a hand to the stair rail that descended into the ship's causeway.

She glanced to the deck of _The Pantera_. Grimmjow looked back at her for a moment as Aizen spoke, but her new keeper's words didn't reach her ears. Grimmjow nodded absently to whatever Aizen was saying as he saw Orihime descend into the stairway.

She sighed in the quiet depths of the new ship, the muted sounds of both ships eclipsed by the vessel's interior. It was well lit, unlike the _Bleeding Sister's_ lower decks had been, and she continued on as Tousen pushed her ahead.

"Here," he said, stopping her before a narrow door to her right before the end of the short hall where another louvered door led to the largest cabin of the level. He pushed open the door to reveal a small room, larger than the closet-size one she'd had on Ulquiorra's ship. It contained a set of bunk beds and small table with two chairs, and pegs of a few items of clothing on the wall beside a single window that opened to a view of the sea.

Out it Orihime could see the rear side of _The Pantera_. She went into the room as Tousen's hand dropped from her shoulder.

"You can stay here until other arrangements are made," he said, and then left down the hall.

Orihime turned, but when she looked to the doorway, Szayel occupied it. A new fear leaped into her face as she recoiled from his smirk, Nnoitra's threats and promises springing to her mind.

He smiled at her, glancing down the hall and back to her. "Hello, maid. I see you've found your way back." He nodded, a light laugh making his words seem more a veiled intimidation than they should have. "I look forward to conversations with you, when Captain Aizen allows."

She backed away and looked to the window. She saw _The Pantera_ shift portside, and then felt the _Five Mirrors_ make a turn of its own. Both ships were underway.

She put her hand to the window frame, forgetting the man at the doorway as she leaned farther out to see the departing ship better. _The Pantera's_ deck was hidden by the vessel's hull, and the angle at which the _Five Mirrors_ moved would soon put Grimmjow's ship out of sight completely. A sudden panic grabbed her spine, her eyes searching frantically for any sign of him. For a moment she was oblivious to Szayel's presence and her new surroundings, desperate to find a familiar blue-haired silhouette on _The Pantera_. After a few seconds she saw Grimmjow top the quarterdeck. He leaned on the aft rail, watching the _Five Mirrors_ as the ships parted quickly under strong sails.

"You'll have to wait on that," Gin's voice broke from hall.

Orihime didn't look to the doorway.

"This is a professional interest," Szayel said. "It doesn't concern you, Lieutenant."

Orihime remained at the window, feeling the warm tears threaten her eyes as she watched _The Pantera_ pull away swiftly across the blue waters. She couldn't see Grimmjow's face clearly, but she knew he was looking her way.

She sniffed, remembering the officers at the doorway to her new living quarters. Sounds of the _Five Mirrors'_ crew returning to their deck details rumbled from overheard, orders now familiar to her called out as the ship veered northwest.

"Aw, tears for a pirate?" Gin's voice asked, an almost amused tone to it. "You can't be grieving to leave _The Pantera_, are you?"

Orihime swallowed down the sobs that wanted out. She steadied her shaky voice, trying to answer without speaking.

"Or isn't it the ship?"

Orihime glanced to the floor near the doorway. There was only one pair of boots, and she chanced to look up to see Gin alone standing there. He grinned, a suspicious grin that wasn't quite friendly, wasn't quite as wicked as Szayel's had been.

He chuckled, fingers tapping the edge of the sword hilt at his side. "Don't think most passengers would shed a tear over leaving that deck." He looked down the hall and then back to her. "You're without your bag of remedies, girl?"

Orihime wiped her face with the back of her hand, unable to keep a few tears from escaping. "It's still on Captain Schiffer's ship."

"Hmm." He nodded, sighing. "Guess that should keep Szayel's interest at bay." He grinned more. "You got a story about how you got on Cap'n Grimmjow's ship?"

Orihime faltered for words, the story she'd planned earlier failing her memory. "Uh, yes...yes, Lieutenant Ichimaru."

"Aw, you're so proper." He stopped speaking, looking down the short hall as footsteps were heard on the stairs. He glanced back to her. "Come on. Let's get you to Cap'n Aizen's table."

The master quarters of the _Five Mirrors_ was more elegant than any of the other ships Orihime had been on in her short time at sea. The rear cabin's fore room was wide and bright, the tall paned windows of real glass allowing the sun's brilliance to shed across the table centered in the room. The wood paneling was dark, smooth and polished to a glossy finish, with a door to the rear of the room to Aizen's private quarters.

Orihime didn't look there as she sat down at the table in the chair Gin pulled out. He sat in the chair one corner from her near a bottle of wine and four glasses, across from Aizen who was already seated to her left. Both men watched her carefully, but not in the same manner, she decided.

Aizen studied her for a long moment, eyes going over her modest dress and mostly combed hair. After a thorough scrutiny he nodded to Gin, who poured them each a glass of wine. He set one before Orihime.

"I'm curious as to how you came to be on _The Pantera_," Aizen said, taking the glass Gin pushed to him. "What's this about Loly and Menoly? Any truth in that?"

She looked to the glass before her, hoping for fortitude without touching it. "They were with me on the island Captain Schiffer docked at, where we'd stopped for medicinal plants."

He nodded.

"We were in the thicker part of the forest," she said, unsure what to tell him and what to leave out. Nnoitra had made clear his threat of involving him or Szayel in any part of her detour. "Captain Jiruga found us," she added. "And then Captain Jaegerjaquez took me from Captain Jiruga."

Gin sat back in his chair, watching her through narrow eyes.

Aizen nodded. "You were on the _Bleeding Sister_ when Grimmjow found you?"

"No, Captain." She took a shallow breath, trying to speak slower than her heart was pounding. "I'm not sure where we were."

He glanced at Gin. "Any make on that ship east of us yet?"

Gin nodded. "It's him."

Orihime darted a look between them, but found nothing in Gin's expression to tell her anything.

"Your bag is still with Captain Schiffer?" Aizen asked. He nodded to her untouched wine. "Drink that, Orihime. I'm sure you've not had the best of care lately."

She didn't argue with him, but she didn't agree, either. Her fingers edged the wide base of the glass. "Yes, Captain Schiffer has my bag."

For what seemed like an eternity to her Aizen watched her, searching her eyes when she looked to him, his weighty stare pulling at her when she dared to look away.

"Is that the story Jaegerjaquez told you to tell me?"

She looked from the wine to Aizen. "No, Captain."

"Did he take you from the _Midori_ to buy his ship back from me?" he asked pointedly.

"No, Captain Aizen." She shook her head quickly. "No, he took me from Captain –"

"Would you say Grimmjow rescued you from Nnoitra Jiruga?" he asked in a more cutting tone.

Orihime's eyes widened, her fingers beginning to shake at the table. She pulled them away from glass.

Gin leaned his forearms on the table, watching her intently.

She glanced to him for a second before looking back to Aizen. "Yes, Captain."

He nodded, and then finished his wine. "It surprises me how I've given clear orders for three ships to invade Blue Towers and two of them have happened to be in the Hueco Mundo archipelago with their own agendas."

She didn't say anything, the warm air of the cabin seeming to press on her forcefully.

"Did Jaegerjaquez engage any ships in battle while you were aboard _The Pantera_?" Aizen asked, his tone devoid of its causticity.

She breathed a little easier. "No, Captain Aizen."

A shout went up from on deck and a series of hails were called. Gin nodded, and she looked to him.

"Can you explain the shortage of crew on _The Pantera_?" Aizen asked.

Orihime looked back to him. "I don't know how many is in Captain Jaegerjaquez's crew," she said honestly.

Gin chuckled lowly. Aizen gave him a sour look.

"Well, she won't know _that_, Cap'n," he said easily, shrugging.

Aizen nodded and looked to the stair as Luppi appeared there.

"Ship requesting permission –"

"Yes, Luppi," Aizen said tolerantly. "Permission granted. Send him in."

Orihime didn't turn to see the boy, her mind twisting among the half-story she'd told and the details she'd left out. She didn't want to spend any time in Szayel's company, alone or otherwise, and felt safer if she said as little about what she knew of him or Nnoitra as possible.

But it wasn't entirely her choice.

She knew he was there by the stench that announced Nnoitra's entrance into the room a few moments later. She saw Aizen's expression set into a different sort of toleration as the tall captain of the _Bleeding Sister_ came in.

"Well, well," Nnoitra said as Orihime turned to look at him before she could stop herself. He grinned a leer at her, a fresh scar running diagonally through his eye, the damaged eye partially blocked by mangled skin that had begun to heal into a distorted mass. "Look who you got here."

"You're surprised?" Gin asked, some of his grin gone.

Nnoitra shrugged.

Aizen looked far up at him and nodded to the remaining empty chair across the table from Orihime. "You may sit and share a drink with us," he proposed, "or you can leave immediately on a detail I'd like you to take undertake."

Orihime wished for the latter, as Nnoitra stood closer to the back of her chair.

"What you got in mind?"

"Seeing as you're not interested in sacking Blue Towers, as I specifically ordered," Aizen began before Nnoitra interrupted.

"I had a leaking ship. I was on my way there now, when I seen you run up the alert banner," he said quickly. "Thought you wanted to talk to me."

"I do." Aizen watched Orihime move slightly in her chair as Nnoitra's hands rested on the back of it. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez is no longer sailing for me. I want _The Pantera_ taken off the water."

Orihime's eyes shot to his at the words, unaware of Nnoitra's bony knuckles touching the back of her dress.

"Do you, now?" Nnoitra said with a snicker.

"Yes. Off the water and at the bottom of the sea." Aizen's attention went from Orihime to the man behind her. "You do that and it'll count as three of the ships you owe me."

"That I can do. With pleasure," Nnoitra said with a broad grin.

"You may leave now, Captain Jiruga," Aizen said. "He was last seen heading due south."

"Thank you much, Captain," Nnoitra said, releasing Orihime's chair as he turned to leave. "You can count _The Pantera_ as sunk."

Orihime kept her eyes on Aizen, barely aware of when the foul odor followed Nnoitra out of the room.

"Gin, tell cook we've got a woman aboard," Aizen said, a different sort of smile crossing his face. "Have him make something palatable."

Orihime's eyes dropped to her hands in her lap, her mind freezing at thoughts of Nnoitra and Grimmjow. She looked to her side as Gin leaned to her ear.

"Cheer up; cook doesn't make something palatable for just anyone," he said with a chuckle.

She nodded bemusedly, gaze lifting to Aizen as he poured himself more wine.

He looked to her, expression unchanged, as if he'd leached out of her any information she'd tried to hide. "Drink your wine, Orihime."


	15. Chapter 15

The _Five Mirrors_ lolled on the slight swells that propelled the ship gracefully over the waters to the Seireitei maritime. On its deck the uniformed crew went about their usual chores under the brilliant sun that shone mercilessly down on pirate and woman alike.

Actually, there wasn't much of Orihime Inoue to shine down upon, as her limited view of the sealine was through the window of her small compartment at half deck. It didn't stop her from looking, her large eyes skimming the shifting blue waters, hoping to see a dot on the horizon that would grow into the familiar shape of a ship she knew. A particular ship.

She sighed and leaned to the side of the ship, regret slipping deeper into heart where a stronghold of a different sort had been under construction. It was futile, and she knew it. Building a wall around memories she wanted to keep was as useless as trying to change her future by wishing.

Besides, she'd elected to return to the _Five Mirrors_; Grimmjow had given her the opportunity to decline, had even insisted she decline, but she had not. She closed her eyes to the glimmer of sunlight off the water and sighed again. It wasn't much of a choice, she decided, the lives of her friends and town weighed against her selfish desire for a future of her own freedom.

She had her memories, which she kept locked tight, but she did want more. Much more.

"I see you're alone."

Szayel's voice broke Orihime's thoughts and she looked quickly to the doorway to see him leaning against the opening. He grinned a slick smile, nodding to her, eyes darting down the hall to where sounds of the crew working from the main deck above could be heard. He glanced back to her, his smile taking a crook at one corner. "Care to talk shop awhile, Maid?"

She stood straighter, pulling the tangerine shawl closer around her shoulders over the pale yellow dress Aizen had supplied her. She crossed the ends tight over her chest as Szayel took a step into the room. "I don't have my supply bag, Officer Szayel."

He nodded, eyeing her from head to toe, eyes resting on her hair where she had braided a thick plait to one side of her face. "Very unusual color hair, girl."

She nodded slightly, fingers of one hand going to the end of the braid.

He didn't advance into the room, but cocked his head to the side, smiling. "Spent a little time with Captain Jiruga, did you?"

Orihime glanced out the window, not wanting to answer.

"That's what I thought. Well, I'm sure he's made it clear to you to keep your pretty mouth shut about him. And me. And anyone else," he added in a lower tone. "Alchemy is a funny process, Maid, made up of exchanges and sacrifices. It can give much, but requires something in return, too. Is that how you do it?"

She shook her head, pulling the ends of her wrap closer in front of her as his smile sent a shudder up her spine. "No. I don't –"

"But do you give, Maid Inoue?" he asked, grin turning sharper. "Are you a sacrificer? You lend out to heal? Is that it? I've never met one in person, but I am fascinated. Is that how you do it?" He didn't wait for an answer, bending to see the face she tried to turn away again. "How much? A year for a life? A limb?" His eyes lit at a memory. "How much did it cost you to give back Captain Jaegerjaquez's arm?"

Orihime looked back to him at the name. She shook her head. "I don't trade years of my life to heal. I use the instruments in my bag. I have thread," she said, trying to sound more convincing. "I have needles, and pins."

"Hmm," he said, nodding and straightening. "Not a sacrificer. Not an alchemist. Just pins and thread, is it? And your medicinal herbs?"

Ichimaru looked at them from around the corner of the doorway into the room, narrow eyes resting on Szayel. "I should have checked here first," he said. "Cap'n wants you topside, Officer." He grinned at the disappointment crossing Szayel's face. "Orders, Officer."

Szayel smoothed his lavender jacket and gave Orihime a nod. "We'll continue our conversation later, Maid. You keep in mind what we've discussed already. Privileged information, right?"

Orihime didn't acknowledge his new smile. He left, slipping past Ichimaru with a grumble of another sort.

Ichimaru looked back to Orihime, putting a hand to the doorway top as the ship made a dip in the water. "Nosey bunch, his kind are." He nodded to the window. "See anything you like out there? Water look any better off this ship?"

She shook her head, meaning it.

He grinned wider. "We all make trades and sacrifices, Maid. Decisions do that to you." He reached for the door latch and pulled it nearly shut as he stepped back into the hall. "Got a ship made south of us. Good chance you'll be sitting in for a meeting, so work up a smile for us, will you?"

She didn't feel like nodding, but did anyway.

"Good."

* * *

By the time the ship was identified and the _Midori_ was given access to the _Five Mirrors_, Orihime's stomach was in new knots. She'd listened to Ulquiorra and Yammy come aboard, the usual greetings and talk from the men and crews above as she waited nearly without breathing in the small room below deck as footsteps were heard crossing the boards. Since that morning she'd only seen Luppi a few times to bring her meals, and then Szayel and Ichimaru for a few moments when the officer had ventured into her room, and she began to think perhaps Captain Aizen had forgotten about her in the day she'd been aboard.

She did smile at that, briefly.

Ulquiorra on the _Five Mirror's_ deck brought new fears to her mind. She tried to begin sorting them out, but too soon she was summoned by Tousen to Aizen's cabin.

He ushered her to the first room of the master quarters, telling her to sit at the table where the afternoon sun was warming the bright chamber. She did as he said, hearing male voices rumble from down the hall past the room she'd been taken from. She recognized a few of them, most in fact. Tousen waited at another chair, vacant eyes on the door to the hall.

It opened and in came Aizen and Ichimaru, followed by Ulquiorra and Yammy. Orihime looked guiltily to the captain of the _Midori_, hoping against hope for the account he'd already told Aizen.

Ulquiorra looked immediately to her, swiftly estimating her anxious expression before looking back to the door as Szayel straggled in behind Yammy.

Aizen took a seat at the table, across from Orihime. He gestured to the other chairs. "Please be seated, comrades," he offered. He glanced to Tousen. "You'll see to the extra rations for the _Midori_."

"Aye, Captain," Tousen said, nodding before taking his leave.

Aizen looked to Yammy, smiling broadly. "You may oversee that the _Midori's_ crew gets proper rum rations, Officer."

Yammy grinned chuckling and nodding. "I'll do that, Captain Aizen."

"Good. You can be about that now."

Yammy looked to Ulquiorra, who nodded, and the large man left into the hall.

Orihime looked to her left as Ulquiorra sat in the chair near her, Szayel standing a few feet behind him. Ichimaru sat in the chair to Aizen's side, eyes on Ulquiorra's look of unease.

Aizen looked between Orihime and Ulquiorra for a moment, his face losing the smile, something more calculating taking its place. He set one arm on the table, looking to Ichimaru. "One of the better bottles of sherry, if you please."

Ichimaru nodded. He stood and went to one of the built in cupboards at the port wall. He looked through it for a moment, and selected a pale bottle and several crystal glasses and brought them back to the table.

"We're renegotiating," Aizen decided, eyes on Orihime. "Since Jaegerjaquez is no longer under my flag, I feel the need to recalibrate my attack schedule."

Orihime found herself watching him closely. Ichimaru pushed a glass of pale amber liquid before her on the table, and then one to Aizen and Ulquiorra. He held one up for Szayel, who took it with a sharp look.

"And since you're already here, Captain Schiffer," Aizen said, pausing to take a drink of the strong sherry, "I think you can attend to that matter."

Ulquiorra frowned at him. He'd come prepared to defend himself against whatever story Grimmjow, and perhaps Orihime, had told about her absence from the _Midori_.

Aizen seemed to read his mind. He gave Ulquiorra a pointed look, ignoring the hopeful eyes Orihime set on him. "You have Maid Inoue's bag?"

Ulquiorra nodded, looking to her at his side. "We haven't replaced everything in it yet," he said, trying to determine exactly what was in her face. He looked back to Aizen. "Maid Inoue was taken from my care under unusual circumstances. If you return her to the _Midori_, I assure you she will have the chance to replenish –"

"Not at this time," Aizen cut in, hand tightening around his glass.

Szayel stepped forward, drink forgotten as he frowned at Aizen. "I think the maiden's bag should be a priority," he said. "I'd like to accompany her back –"

"Not yet," Aizen said, watching Orihime fidget in her chair as the officer stood near. He looked back to Ulquiorra. "You have my ensigns?"

Orihime nearly turned in her chair to look at Ulquiorra. A slight grin came to his lips as he raised his glass.

"Yes, I do, Captain Aizen," he said, not looking to Orihime. "They're under discipline and have another month in the brig for failure of duty."

He took a long drink of the sherry, and Orihime looked quickly to Aizen. He nodded slowly.

"I see," he said, sitting back from the table, eyes on Orihime for a moment before going back to Ulquiorra. "I think my message to the King and Karakura will be better served with another visit by you and Captain Starrk's crew."

Orihime nearly gasped, hands on the table, fingers pressing into the edge at the words. "Captain Aizen," she said without thinking, and then remembered herself. "But we, but you ..."

"She's got a point," Ichimaru said, downing his drink. He turned his attention on Aizen. "You made a deal with the girl, Cap'n."

Aizen nodded. "That deal is being adjusted." He poured himself more sherry and topped off Ichimaru's glass, then glanced to Ulquiorra. "Captain?"

Ulquiorra looked to the bottle Aizen held, feeling the weight of Orihime's worry from his side. He shook his head, attention on the girl.

"I am not entirely without justice," Aizen told her as Orihime stared at him with disbelief. "Your king needs reminding of that, of what a patient man I've been in this matter. Perhaps another demonstration of my tolerance is in order. You have no home, no family," he said methodically as she shut her gaping mouth. "However, you must have something you value there."

She nodded immediately. "My friends, Captain. My –"

"I'm afraid that is out of the question at the moment," he said, eyes back on the sherry. "Do you hold property? Inheritance?"

Ulquiorra turned to her, awaiting her reply.

She blinked, first at him and then as she looked to Aizen at the other side of the table. "Captain...Captain Aizen," she stammered, trying to summon her wits as she sat straighter, "I thought –"

"Maid Inoue, your willingness to leave Karakura is a very gallant gesture," Aizen said, ignoring the pleading in her eyes, "but sometimes more is needed. I think another visit by the crews of the _Midori_ and _Gingerback_ is in order. Perhaps that will help King Yamamoto set his priorities in proper perspective. Now, do you hold any property?"

She nodded. "A flax field just outside of town, Captain."

Aizen nodded, glancing to Ulquiorra. "You'll find this field and leave it untouched. A sign that we can pick and choose our targets, but that nothing is beyond our reach, Captain Schiffer. The king has gotten too comfortable in ignoring my requests. A reminder should regain his interest."

For a few moments there was silence in the room, the only sound the gentle creak of the ship as it moved on the waters beneath the gentle wind filling the sails. Orihime watched in shock of the new development as Ulquiorra studied his half full glass for a long moment, twisting it as the sun reflected bronze facets off the liquid inside.

"You made a deal."

Everyone looked to Ichimaru as he said it.

"You've made a lot of deals," Ichimaru added, this time directly to Aizen.

"That's for another time, Lieutenant Ichimaru," Aizen said. He glanced at Orihime. "Take Maid Inoue back to her room while I discuss Captain Schiffer's new orders."

For a moment Ichimaru didn't move, shrewdly watching Aizen at his side. Then he stood and rounded the table to where Orihime sat.

She was barely aware of him until his hand rested on her shoulder.

"Come along, Maid," he said.

She looked to his hand, willing herself to stand.

Ulquiorra glanced to them, dark eyes shifting between them until Aizen spoke again.

Orihime walked before Ichimaru to the door and then into the hall, feeling numb and weak at the same time.

"Captain Starrk should be just off Cape North Shore," she heard Aizen say as Ichimaru pulled the door shut behind them.

She looked to him, but his face was unreadable in the dim hall as they walked to her small room.

It wasn't far, and she stopped as he opened the door, waiting for her to go in. She studied his face for a moment, trying to read something more in the slight frown he wore.

He grinned quickly, but it wasn't genuine. "Aw, don't look so glum," he told her, prodding her should until she went into the compartment. "You bought your town some time. Think of it that way."

Orihime turned away, feeling the tears threaten her eyes as she bowed her head.

"Not what you bargained for, is it?"

She didn't look at him, nodding as she used the end of the wrap to wipe away a tear that started at the corner of her eye.

"Here. Take these. They always cheer me up."

She looked down to the small cotton pouch he extended. She looked back up to him as he looked around her shoulder.

He grinned more, shaking the bag. "Dried persimmons."

She shook her head, fighting a few more tears.

He slipped them into her hand. "Maybe for later then."

Orihime exhaled a shaky sigh, nodding as her fingers closed tighter on the cloth. "Thank you, Lieutenant Ichimaru."

They both looked to the hall as a shadow passed near the open doorway. Ulquiorra looked in at them, and for a moment his eyes rested on Orihime's damp cheeks.

He glanced to Ichimaru, and then frowned more. "I'll send Luppi in with the maid's bag."

Ichimaru nodded.

Ulquiorra made a sight nod to Orihime, and then left down the hall.

Orihime was vaguely aware of Ichimaru speaking more, but his words were lost on her. She nodded as he finished and left the room, closing the door after him. She stared unfocused on the cloth bag in her hand, the cotton material decorated with a paisley blue and green design.

Above her voices called as the crew of the _Midori_ readied for their next journey.

To Karakura, Orihime knew.

To undo her sacrifice.

* * *

It took less than a day out from returning Orihime to the _Five Mirror's_ for the detail to put Grimmjow into a foul mood. He got past that, largely with the help of a bottle of brandy, and then his mind went into another direction.

He sat on _The Pantera's_ quarterdeck stair that second night, watching the crew revel in a new barrel of ale and their new freedom from what many had called – even among pirates – the bastard pirate's rule.

Grimmjow pulled the cork on the second bottle of brandy and took a long drink from it. More so than a full day without Orihime on his deck, a full night without her had left him with a void. He watched the crewmen in the moonlight on the deck, most slobbering over their dice in a boisterous game of chance, the shantyman already too inebriated to sing, slouched against a barrel over the forecastle. In another corner Brigger was tying knots in a practice rope.

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed over the dark deck. Freedom didn't taste so sweet without that delicate face in his quarters. Orihime's presence lingered in his rooms, in his bed, the soft scent of citrus and warm smiles haunting him, teasing when he knew she wouldn't be sitting in the window seat behind his desk.

He took another swig from the bottle and looked to it, realizing he'd drunk half of it already. He also knew finishing the rest of it wouldn't erase memories of her soft form in his arms or her lips on his. A low growl surfaced from him as he looked out over the deck, thinking back on seeing her first in Nnoitra's room, of how the moonlight had played over her bare shoulders, touching amber highlights in her hair that night.

He glanced to Cat as the first mate approached the bottom step of the quarterdeck. Cat grinned at him, a half empty bottle in his grip.

"Kinda surprised we ain't heading back yet, Captain," he ventured, resting one boot on the lowest step, leaning an elbow on his knee.

Grimmjow cursed, shaking his head at the mate's grin. "She chose not to stay, Cat."

Cat shrugged. "You didn't change her mind for her? Girl that age don't know her own mind yet."

Grimmjow chuckled. "But if she wanted to stay, would she know her mind _then_?"

Cat shook his head, not willing to walk into that trap with his captain. "I suppose I'd say yes."

Grimmjow raised the bottle of brandy to his lips and drained another quarter from it. The strong drink didn't make him forget anything. Nor did he want to.

Cat turned to look at the game of dice as the winner whooped in triumph, smacking the nearest crewman until he fell over.

For a long moment Grimmjow watched a new game of dice be set up across the main deck. Already several of the crew was sprawled on coiled ropes at the forecastle, sleeping off their newest hangovers and freedom.

The flap of sails above him reminded him _The Pantera_ was only getting farther away form the _Five Mirrors_, putting water and miles between him and Orihime.

Grimmjow stood up and put one hand to the sword hilt at his side. Damn Aizen.

Freedom or not, he'd wrestle Orihime's choice away from Aizen barehanded, even if it meant permanently reducing her options.

Cat looked to him.

Grimmjow nodded, glancing to the helm where an officer stood at the wheel. "Take our bearings."

Cat chuckled, nodding.

Grimmjow finished the bottle and threw it overboard, grinning at his decision. "Turn us around, helmsman!"

* * *

**Authors' Note: **_Thank you for reading! And for the reviews!_


	16. Chapter 16

Nel had spent half the morning watching the small dot on the horizon grow into a larger dot as she stood on the _Bleeding Sister's_ main deck. Nnoitra had spent much of that time watching her, but not with the same intent that most of the crew watched the curvaceous green-haired woman.

He'd tried to get the spyglass away from her a few times, but the most he managed was a brief glimpse through the scope an hour ago.

He liked what he saw. Apparently, Nel wasn't as impressed.

"I don't want that ship," she whined when he joined her at the ship rail. She gave him a growl and a sharp elbow to his bony sternum when he stood too close.

"Dammit, Nel, I just want to see for a second," he said, rubbing his chest and trying to reach for the glass she held away from him.

She stepped away and raised the glass to her eye again.

Across the bright aquamarine waters the small dot rode the waves, the wind in the sails bringing it closer to the _Bleeding Sister_.

"Well, let me see a minute, and maybe I can figure a way to make us both happy," he said, grinning, the skin around his maligned eye pulling his face into a ghastly contortion.

"I don't like it when you say that," she mumbled, squinting through the glass.

He knew what she was alluding to, and it hadn't made either of them happy. "If you would've played along you would've liked it."

She ignored him, eye on the ship. "I don't want a new ship. I want this ship. It should be mine. My sister said I —"

"You ain't got a sister, Nel," he said, swiping the scope away from her. She turned to glare at him, and as she did his good eye rested on the skin at the back of her neck where the tangled green tresses and half-braided strands of hair lay. He saw enough to know the stitches Szayel had so precisely placed were still intact.

He gave her a grin. "You're just dreaming, Nel." He raised the scope to his eye, taking a minute to find the ship without a name on the waters. He grinned wider. It was a healthy ship, large and wide, sans galley ports and any decoration or flag to announce its allegiance. He couldn't determine much, aside from the few silhouettes of crewmen and a rather large figure on the quarterdeck.

He adjusted the scope as far as it would allow, but Nel had already set it to the maximum distance. On the unnamed ship's raised foredeck he could see a light auburn haired woman with the enormous male figure.

Nnoitra nodded, coming to a few conclusions. "Okay, here's what we'll do, Nel," he said, handing the scope back to the fidgeting woman at his side. He leaned closer, as close as she let him before pulling away and wrinkling her nose. "You be my second as I sack that ship and you can have the _Sister_ free. I'll take that pretty one out there," he said, pointing to the black dot riding the waves toward them, "and then I'll take that out to sink _The Pantera_. You happy with that?"

She smiled, giggling and nodding, until a new thought halted her. "But I can't sail it." She crossed her arms, the actions testing her pale green tunic to its bursting point. She looked to the ship in the distance and then back to him. "I'll get lost."

Nnoitra enjoyed the view of what he could see of her stressed tunic and then shrugged, grinning as he glanced to her face. "Guess we'll figure that out when he get there. We got a deal? You play nice and help me pick that ship and then you take the _Sister_. Tag along with me 'til you can raise a crew with a navigator."

She nodded, shoving the scope back at him. "Okay. I'll play that game!"

With a gleeful shout she bolted to the cabins.

Nnoitra chuckled and put the scope back to his eye, looking out across the water to where the nameless ship was coming into sharper view. He grinned as the form of Rangiku Matsumoto became identifiable on the new ship's quarterdeck.

Sinking _The Pantera_ would just have to wait a few more days.

* * *

Half a day away the ship still awaiting Captain Zaraki's choice of name was suffering under the day's merciless heat. The crew was wilting, the passengers complaining. Uryuu hadn't kept down a solid meal in a week. The sweltering heat was only made bearable by the glimpse of good news that had been heralded by Yachiru.

"A ship!" she'd cried that morning from the quarterdeck. She kneeled on a barrel of ale that was tied to the front of the short deck, pointing a honey-sticky finger to the wide seas as she gripped the spyglass with an equally gummy hand. "A ship over there, Kenny!"

Half the crew on the ship dashed for the portside rail, every eye on the horizon where the smallest of shapes barely made a point where the sea met the sky.

Ichigo's gaze stretched as far as it could over the glimmering waters. It was barely a wrinkle in the horizon, but he could see a definite interruption on the watery line.

"It's him," Rangiku said.

Ichigo, Chad and Uryuu turned to look at her.

She stood at the short quarterdeck stair, her blue eyes moving over the small shape in the distance.

Above her Yachiru handed down the scope.

Rangiku ignore the scope's tacky feel and put it to her eye as most of the crew shook their heads.

"You're sure?" Ichigo asked.

"She's sure," Renji said from his position further down the rail, nodding as he gestured out over the waters.

"When you've waited for someone to return from a voyage," she said, speaking to no one in particular as she watched through the scope, "you know it. It's exactly where he usually is at this time of month, every month, and it has all the markings of the _Five Mirrors_."

Uryuu gave a weak look across the water. "You can see that far with it?"

Yachiru nodded. "She knows what to look for, don't you?" she asked Rangiku.

The navigator nodded. "There are five small burgees on the fore, main, and mizzenmasts," she said. "Each marks the second set of sails Aizen flies when he runs invisible."

"Burgees?" Chad said.

"Usually used for signaling," Renji told him, "but sometimes used as markers."

"In the right light, like now," Rangiku said, "you can see each of the burgees, which means he hasn't disappeared yet."

Ichigo and Chad traded looks.

Zaraki climbed the quarterdeck stair and stood beside Yachiru as Rangiku handed the spyglass up to him. He put the glass to his good eye and grinned at the view.

"What do you mean, _disappeared_ yet?" Ichigo asked.

Ikkaku leaned on the rail beside him. "That's how Aizen does it, landlocked. He goes invisible and sneaks right up on unsuspecting ships. No one knows how it's done."

Ichigo looked to Rangiku. Her eyes were on the spot where they knew the ship to be, identified at an impossible distance as the _Five Mirrors_.

"How do you know?" he called to her.

A louder grousing among the crew arose, and Ikkaku gave Ichigo a less than friendly shove to the shoulder.

Ichigo frowned at him, and then crossed to where Rangiku stood at the quarterdeck.

"We can barely even see that spot of a ship," he said, lowering his voice at the caustic look on her face. "I mean, are you sure? It's so far away. Are you really sure?"

She gave him a small smile and looked back to the watery horizon. "When you sit on a pier as long as I have waiting for a particular ship to come back, you know it when you see it, Ichigo."

He followed her gaze, deciding not to question for more information about why she was sitting on that pier. "How does it disappear?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. All I know for certain is that the _Five Mirrors_ can run a second set of sails that make it appear to disappear."

He waited for her to laugh and say she was joking, that it was a running story to explain the riddle of the _Five Mirror's_ ability to seemingly vanish on the open seas, but she didn't.

"But...but how?" he asked again.

She shook her head. "I don't know. Anyone who knows that sails for him or is dead." She looked to the deck behind him where some of the crew was now moving to the starboard rail. "If your girl is on that ship, rich boy, you better hope we can get to her before it disappears."

Ichigo scowled at the pinpoint of ship in the distance.

"Ship made!"

Ichigo and Rangiku spun around to face the starboard rail where nearly the whole crew was standing and pointing in the opposite direction. Zaraki followed their call, looking through the scope to find the new vessel.

A low growl started in his throat, reverberating over the decks as Yachiru hopped down from the barrel and started across the short deck.

Zaraki grabbed her small shoulder in one meaty hand, still looking through the scope. "Bloody hell," he mumbled as he got a make on the ship. "She's flying Aizen's banner."

Renji was halfway up the mainmast, anchored by one arm around the thick timber as he searched the waters between them and the newest ship. "She's gaining!" he called to Ikkaku. "All sails flying!"

"All swords on deck!" Zaraki boomed, tossing the spyglass to Rangiku. "Every edge starboard! Move it, you wretches!"

Rangiku caught the glass and looked out over the waters. It took only moments for her to get a better look at the shapely figurehead on the ship's bow. "It's the _Little Sister_!"

Ichigo's hand went automatically to his scabbard, hand tight on the sword hilt.

Zaraki gave him a crooked smile. "Let's see you earn your keep, rich boy!"

* * *

South from where the _Bleeding Sister_ was advancing on the ship with no name, _The Pantera_ was half a day out of sight from either ship. Grimmjow's decision to cut back to the _Five Mirrors_ had put them south of Nnoitra's departure to intercept the nameless ship.

It also put _The Pantera_ in line with the _Five Mirrors_, out of sight of the two ships readying for battle, but nearly within scope view of anyone watching from the _Five Mirror's_ deck.

Grimmjow could barely discern the ship on the horizon as the _Five Mirrors_. At his distance, she was merely a blur, a ripple that shimmered in and out of view as the sun made plays of light on the vast blue waters between him and the girl he'd sworn to retrieve.

He stood at the quarterdeck in the merciless heat of the early morning. "We've got half a day, Cat," he said to the first mate standing at the starboard rail sharpening a falchion blade. "Once he's pulled down the five mirrors we're sailing blind."

Cat looked out to where the crew was donning every armament they owned, a collection of knives, swords, halberds, and axes hand-picked from too many battles to count across numerous ship decks. "We never tried this before, Captain," he said, running the grit cloth along the edge of the stout sword. He glanced to the fore of the ship. "Mighty chancy."

Grimmjow nodded.

Sounds of a second, wooden bowsprit being attached to the ship bow beneath the iron bowsprit were accompanied by grunts and curses of the crew dangling by ropes over the forecastle as _The Pantera_ bounded toward the _Five Mirrors_. The second was a longer bowsprit, extending beyond the first at a lower angle that jutted just off the starboard bow.

Grimmjow looked to where the crew was securing the makeshift ram. "If we hit the _Five Mirrors_ above the waterline and below the bulwark, we can deadlock her until I decide we're done," he calculated, leaning at the rail to watch the crew dangle precariously over the side as they worked. "She's faster than us, Cat. We can't catch her if Aizen wants to run."

"She can also sink us if we jam up too far," Cat said, turning the sword in his hands to check the edge he'd put on the blade. "You think of that, Captain?"

Grimmjow nodded, his attention turning back to the _Five Mirrors_ that was slowly enlarging on the horizon. "She'll disappear when Aizen thinks we're close enough. That arrogant bastard probably want to show off, make sure we witness his vanishing." His jaw set tightly as he put the spyglass to his eye again and searched for the slender form of Orihime on the ship in the distance. He couldn't see her, wouldn't be able to for hours, if she was allowed deckside. "It's eerie, seeing a ship just disappear like that."

Cat nodded, watching out over the waters that winked in the bright sunlight. "At top speed, we've got half a chance. Not much."

Grimmjow's hand rested at his sword hilt, itching to cross blades with Aizen as he lowered the spyglass. _The Pantera_ was at full speed now, every sail turned to catch any whisper of wind. "I'd like to see if he's really as fast as the rumors," he said, grinning at the ship. "Never seen Aizen actually fight; never even seen him draw a blade on anyone, Cat. They say he's so quick you can't see the blade of his sword."

"Illusion," said the first mate, sheathing the now sharpened sword and looking out across the waters. "Just like those damn sails."

He glanced to where Brigger was also watching the waters, the boy's healed hand gripped tightly around the last remaining orange from the branch Orihime had left in his care when she returned to the _Five Mirrors_.

"Eat it before it withers and wastes," Grimmjow called to him as the boy searched for the dot of a ship on the horizon. "She didn't leave it for you to watch it die."

Brigger looked guiltily to the shriveling fruit. "I was going to save it for her, Captain. For when she comes back."

Grimmjow chuckled. He pulled the large knife from the back of his waistband, one thumb running absently along the edge of the curved blade. "Bring up a stone and then eat that orange, Brigger. We'll get more when she gets back."

The cabin boy looked to the fruit with a disappointed nod, and then headed to the captain's quarters. "Aye, Captain."

Grimmjow sent a narrow glare to the _Five Mirrors_, wondering if Orihime was topside or below deck, and if so, where. Exactly where.

* * *

The crew of the _Five Mirrors_ had enjoyed a few days of solitude on the waters after Ulquiorra and the _Midori_ had departed for the Seireitei coast. Orihime had spent much of that time in the small compartment she knew to be Loly and Menoly's quarters.

Most of that time she'd passed brooding, twisting between thoughts of regret and frustrated wait as Aizen took them across the expanse of seas that looked to her the same as any other waters. She'd tread every line of thought she had, mulled over decisions that weren't hers to make.

Ulquiorra was on his way to pillage the very town she'd given up her freedom and future to protect, and now she knew the _Bleeding Sister_ was at full sail to sink _The Pantera_.

She closed her eyes, wishing she could go back to the day Ulquiorra and Yammy had surprised her in her room in Karakura. Or even back to the last time she'd stood on the deck of _The Pantera_. She wished she could relive that moment, give a different answer.

She sighed as she sat on the crate near the quarterdeck at the stair where the shade of the sails above offered a welcome relief in the blistering day. She was tired of thinking about things when she could do nothing about them, could change nothing.

Her finger traced a wrinkle out of the periwinkle skirt of her silk dress Aizen had supplied her, the fine workmanship of the frock escaping her as regrets crowded her mind.

She wished Grimmjow would ask her one more time if she wanted to stay.

A deeper shadow fell over her and she looked up to see Ichimaru step up to her. He gave her his typical grin, something she hadn't yet understood. Unconsciously her hands balled in the skirt at her knees.

"That dot on the yonder sea-line stopped moving," he told her, his sing-song delivery of the words subtracting from any impact they should have had on her. He nodded to the water off the starboard bow ahead of the ship. "Guess it's not Cap'n Schiffer. Must be a new duck on the water."

She said nothing of the ship they'd spotted that morning, still a mere dot on the water. She wasn't sure just what to say, and he crouched down to see her better. She sat straighter.

"Probably a merchant ship, you think?" he asked, grinning.

"Oh, I ... I don't know, Officer Ichimaru." She glanced to the front of the ship where Aizen and Tousen were standing, both looking out over the waters ahead where they'd been keeping surveillance for several hours.

He looked up, far above them both to where a second set of crosstrees were attached to the fronts of the large masts. "We'll be dropping those soon. You'll see what few have ever seen, Maid Orihime," he said, some of the grin tempered on his face. "Anyone who sees that doesn't know it, because it's not meant to be seen."

"It's ... not meant ... I don't understand," she said, looking up at each of the five secondary crosspieces that fit above the three main sails of the derricks holding the sets of sails.

He nodded and then stood up as Aizen called to him across the deck. Ichimaru waved in return, and then Orihime flinched as a dozen crewmen rushed to attend the halyard.

There was a flurry of activity and a muted chorus of calls and shouts, and then Orihime jumped to her feet as great rolls of canvas sails unfurled from the secondary horizontal crosstrees.

She stepped back, pressing her spine to the cabin wall beneath the quarterdeck behind her. Five sails dropped, each covering one of the largest sails of the main, mizzen and foremasts. The ropes were pulled taut, adjusted by the crew to angle over the existing, working sails until they shrouded the canvas from the front.

Ichimaru nodded, taking a step toward Orihime as she watched with uncertainty the new sails being secured. "Do you know what makes the _Five Mirrors_ so adept at elusion, girl?"

She shook her head, wide eyes still on the new sails that seemed to glisten mirror-like in the bright sun.

"Do you know what is so special about Hueco Mundo?"

There was no humor in his tone now, and she looked to him.

His eyes were barely open, showing her nothing of his mood. "The sands of Hueco Mundo are unique," he said quietly. "They have a malleability to them. They can be tempered into steel and the dust can be spun into thread and woven into sails. They can do all that, and they do much more, Orihime Inoue."

She looked up at the second set of sails.

"They reflect. Cloth made from the glass of Hueco Mundo sands reflect back at the looker. In this case, the sails reflect the sea," he told her, watching the fascination claim her face. "They can be turned so that anyone on a ship looking at us sees only water. The _Five Mirrors_ disappears, like a bobbing cork in the water when you look at it too long." He chuckled. "Metal ingrained with the sand can take on those qualities, too. In the right hands," he said, shifting a look to where Szayel was joining Aizen and Tousen at the foredeck, "and with a little help from alchemy, the blade of a sword can appear to disappear. It's there, all right, and will cut you to pieces, but if the wielder moves with any speed, it appears to vanish."

She looked to the scabbard at Aizen's side, swallowing forcefully as she considered Ichimaru's words. "Captain Aizen?"

He nodded. "And he moves with the necessary speed, maid."

The flap of sails made Orihime look up, her mouth suddenly dry as she thought through what he'd said. "You mean, we're invisible?"

"That's what it amounts to." He looked up at the sails, and then to Tousen.

"No name!" he said urgently, pointing toward the ship in the distance they'd been watching all morning. "No name! Second ship made! Unknown!"

Beside him Aizen was looking through a spyglass, moving the scope from the nameless ship that was closer to the less visible, also obscure vessel in the distance beyond it.

"Who are they?" Orihime said.

Ichimaru shook his head. "At this distance, can't tell you." He fished around in the pocket to his tan coat, retrieving a smaller spyglass. He raised it to his eye, squinting the other completely shut. "The thing about ships this far away, Maid Orihime, is that you can't get a good make until ..." he broke off speaking, most of the expression fleeing his face as he focused the glass on the closest of the distant ships. "No..."

Ahead of them Aizen lowered his spyglass and turned, his gaze meeting Ichimaru's as his lieutenant took the scope from his eye.

Orihime saw a heavy look pass between the two men, and then Ichimaru pushed her away as Aizen approached. Tousen turned to follow.

"That's Rangiku Matsumoto on that ship," Ichimaru said, his tone dead serious.

Aizen nodded. "Our next target."

"We had a deal," Ichimaru said as Aizen stopped before him and Orihime. "You gave your word that we attack no ship she's on."

Aizen nodded, one hand going to his sword. "She's standing on the wrong deck, Ichimaru."

Before Orihime saw anyone even move, there was a sharp sound of metal being drawn and the blade of Tousen's sword was pointed at the throat of the man beside her. She sidestepped as Ichimaru's hand paused halfway to his scabbard.

"We had a deal," he said to Aizen. "Your word if I sailed for you, Aizen."

Around the deck the crewmembers had grown quiet.

Aizen nodded. "We're renegotiating. Tousen, take Ichimaru to the brig and find him a comfortable place in an inner cell."

Ichimaru started to speak, but Tousen pressed the blade to his throat. Orihime caught her breath as a small trickle of blood began between his collarbones.

"Quietly," Aizen said.

Tousen pushed the blade until Ichimaru backed up.

Orihime watched in horror as his sword was taken from him and the lieutenant was taken below to the hold, the crew moving almost silently beneath the shimmering sails above.

Aizen stepped to her, smiling a bit at her terrified expression. "I believe there's no need to lock you away, is there, maid?"

She shook her head, her chest beginning to hurt as her heart beat furiously.

"Good. You can see for yourself that we alone can move on the waters under a cloak of illusion, Orihime," he said, his smile twisting at the words. "You'll remain silent until I have you locked away during any fighting, do you understand?"

She nodded, the only sound seeming to be the pounding of blood in her ears.

He nodded. He was about to speak more when another crewman waved wildly to him. Aizen glanced to him and the man pointed off the portside of the _Five Mirrors_.

Aizen turned and raised the spyglass to his eye, looking through it for a long moment.

Orihime saw him scowl, searching the waters without speaking, the ship seeming surreal in the quietness.

"Well, well," he finally said in a low tone. "Two mystery ships and now a third. The seas are full of opportunities." He looked to her, smiling a bit. "It'll be a while before we can put a make to any of our new targets, but you understand you're to remain silent."

She nodded, feeling strangely faint.

"Good. Now sit down and wait. You're about to see what few alive have observed, Orihime."

He smiled, and then turned to cross the deck to give more attention to the two ships off the starboard bow.

Orihime looked to the portside of the _Five Mirrors_. She saw nothing, no ship, no dot, no wrinkle on the watery horizon, and knew she could not without a spyglass.

She sank to the crate as her knees felt weak, and then looked up to the shimmering sails overhead that rendered the ship invisible.

The _Five Mirrors_.

* * *

**Authors' Note: **_Thanks for reading and all the reviews! Two or three chapters left_.


	17. Chapter 17

Rangiku lowered her scope, her worst fears realized as the _Five Mirrors_ blinked from off the water.

At least, one of her worst fears. She had another, too. She searched again for it, finding only rippling water beneath the high sun as far as the scope allowed her to see.

"He's gone!" she cried out across the unnamed ship's main deck from her lookout on the helm. She pointed needlessly to where most of the crew was already looking. "It was the _Five Mirrors_ for sure and it's gone!"

Zaraki bounded to the quarterdeck, took the scope from her and held it to his eye. A scowl crossed his face, but the snarl was unvoiced as a chirp from Yachiru came from the quarterdeck stair.

"No, no, no," Yumichika mussed, wiping the small handprint from the side of the short wall of the quarterdeck. "This is no time for such frivolity, young lady. And so ugly, too. Where are those brightly colored chalks Ikkaku got you in port last?"

Beside him Yachiru pouted, crossing her small arms over her chest, hands still dusted with ash from the galley fire pit. "All used up, feather man."

"Time for that later," Renji called to them from the sternpost, waving an arm as his attention remained on the _Bleeding Sister_ advancing on them from the rear. "She's coming in fast, Captain!"

Ichigo, Uryuu and Chad turned their attention from the portside of the ship where they'd been at the rail watching the small dot of a ship called the _Five Mirrors_ as it shimmered out of sight, none of them believing their eyes. A thunder of feet made for the aft deck as the crew gathered where Renji had been keeping an eye on the ship behind them.

"She's fast," Chad said, frowning at the approaching ship.

"What about that ship?" Uryuu glanced behind them at the watery horizon that had once held a ship in view.

"We can't reach the _Five Mirrors_ before that," Zaraki grunted, suddenly standing behind and over them and the crew, pointing at the _Bleeding Sister_, "catches us. That's our fist fight, men." He glinted a grin at Ichigo. "Boys."

"Every blade up!" Ikkaku shouted, his grin matching his captain's leering grimace and hunger for battle.

Around the deck every sword was drawn, the echo of steel unsheathed ringing across the water, a sound the captain of the _Bleeding Sister_ found inviting. At the quarterdeck, Rangiku took the steps quickly and grabbed Yachiru's hand.

"Inside, young lady." She tugged on the girl's sooty fingers. "And don't be touching all over the Captain's quarters until you wash that off."

"Go with her," Zaraki said before Yachiru could voice her protests. He didn't look back to her, his eye on the ship swiftly closing the watery distance between them.

On the foredeck of the _Bleeding Sister_, Nnoitra's lanky form could be seen, sneering back at them as his wiry arm wound in a rope dangling from a mast post, a sword in his other hand, limp hair tied back in an old, torn flag.

Zaraki drew the long sword at his side, grinning at the prospect of a fresh fight. "Men on the ropes!"

It wasn't the typical order Ichigo had heard over the last few days, and the crew didn't respond with the usual rush to mast ropes.

Zaraki held his sword hilt in a powerful grasp, grinning as the ship gaining from behind them pulled abreast several moments later in a sharp veer starboard to avoid collision. "Put the fight on their deck, men, and take down any man —"

He was still speaking as Nnoitra's bloodcurdling cry ripped through the air and half a dozen ropes swung from the _Bleeding Sister_, each bearing a pirate, with Nnoitra in the lead.

The pirate ship maneuvered beside the second vessel, her portside rail nearly aligned to starboard rail where Zaraki's men were eagerly waiting, every sword and knife blade in sight.

The air was filled with pirates from the _Bleeding Sister_, most landing on the unnamed ship's main deck, a few in the water between the vessels. Nnoitra landed near the main derrick, arm raised to strike the first blow to an unfortunate crewman that had turned his back to encounter Tesla.

Ichigo's hand tightened on his sword as he rushed into the crowded melee that sprung from the invasion of new bodies. Chad joined him and Uryuu took to the foredeck with Yumichika and Ikkaku as a new set of pirate-bearing ropes swung overhead. Uryuu drew the slender sword at his side, determined skill overriding his nausea.

Nnoitra found the largest pirate on deck, Zaraki, and with a scream attacked in a flurry of strikes barely hampered by his bad eye.

Zaraki roared back at him. "Not on _my_ ship!"

Their blades met in a jarring impact of steel and bruising force, with Zaraki following through with a cutting blow that sent the tall pirate back a step. Zaraki grinned maniacally, his sword clanging off Nnoitra's blade as the deck around them paired into smaller battles among the crew until there was barely room to move.

Nnoitra held his own, sending a backhanded swipe that tipped the larger captain's shoulder.

In response, Zaraki grinned and sent a volley of strikes in rapid fire.

Nnoitra caught most, two slicing into his upper arm until he backed up, stumbling over the falling injured bodies that amounted on the deck as the two crews engaged.

At the quarterdeck Nel had landed with a rope, sword drawn but little interest in the fight except to examine the unnamed ship. She watched the heated battles on the main deck, loyalties in question, and then turned her attention to the helm. She smiled as she ran a finger over the rounded steering wheel, giggling as she named each wooden dowel spoke.

"I'd name you Hally, and you Belle," she said softly, fingering the spokes, nearly oblivious to the men dying and fighting behind her. "And you ...hmm, maybe Star, and you –"

"Who are you?" Rangiku asked from behind her as she climbed the stair after winning her first fight. She cautiously watched the well-endowed woman turn, ready for anything from the mass of wild green hair and childish smile she'd seen take to the quarterdeck. Rangiku held her sword at the ready, seeing Nel's grip on her weapon flinch at her voice.

Nel looked to her, smiling wider. "Why doesn't your ship have a name?" she wondered, vaguely aware of the commotion on deck. "All ships need a name. Don't you think?"

Rangiku glanced to the deck behind her, not dropping her guard as she circled to Nel's side. "You came over from the _Bleeding Sister_," she said warily, trying to determine the strange behavior of the woman in green tunic and black pants. She looked to the red sash and then the anklet of seashells around one of Nel's ankles. "Why are you –"

"It's supposed to be the _Little Sister_," Nel corrected, pouting a bit, sending a frown to the deck to their side. She found Nnoitra dueling Zaraki before looking back to Rangiku. "When it was _my_ ship it was the _Little Sister_. Hey," she said, giggling, "my ship has had two names and yours doesn't even have one!"

Rangiku lowered her sword some. "Your ship? That was _your_ ship?" She sent a quick glance to the vessel riding by the side of Zaraki's ship. She nodded to where Zaraki had beaten Nnoitra across the deck to the forecastle. The battle had thinned across deck, with clumps of pirates and crewmen lying torn and bleeding. "Who do you hope wins that fight?"

Nel turned to stand at the quarterdeck stair, sword lowered at her side, eyes following the two large captains as they traded strikes, each movement matched nearly equally until Zaraki's blade sliced open Nnoitra's chest from pectoral to lower rib.

Nnoitra bellowed a cry that made most battles pause.

On the quarterdeck Nel nodded to Rangiku. "The one with the bells in his hair."

Zaraki wiped the sweat from his brow and stuck the sword tip to Nnoitra's neck, backing him against the foredeck rail, grinning as blood dripped from the point of contact. A chuckle rose deep in his throat as he watched Nnoitra's thin neck dribble red. "Drop your sword, loser!"

Nnoitra gritted his teeth, trying to swallow as the sword point eked out more blood.

"Do it!" Zaraki roared.

Nnoitra's hand relaxed around his sword handle. It clattered to the deck boards, signaling his crew to do the same.

On the quarterdeck, Nel smiled and glanced to Rangiku, but then her face dropped. "But that means I won't get my own ship."

Rangiku looked to each of Nel's eyes, still trying to discern what was amiss about the childish woman. She was no nearer to figuring out what Nel's plight was when Tesla's pleas for mercy at Ichigo's hands cried out across the deck.

"I beg you! Mercy!" Tesla begged again, dropping to his knees before him.

Ichigo frowned at the first mate cowering before him, his sword falling to the deck, hands raised in the air.

The separate fights around them ceased, weapons of the _Bleeding Sister's_ crewmen lowering in surrender.

"Damn you all," Nnoitra muttered with as much movement as he could muster beneath the sword at his neck.

Zaraki grinned. "Ikkaku! Renji! Disarm these bastards and put 'em below!"

"Aye, Captain!" he was readily answered by Renji and Ikkaku.

Rangiku followed as Nel skipped down the short quarterdeck stair. "Hold it," she said, one hand on the green-haired woman's arm. "Your captain has surrendered," she reminded. "You can't –"

Nel tossed off her hand but also gave up her sword. "He's not my captain."

Ichigo holstered his sword as Ikkaku oversaw the disarming of the _Bleeding Sister's_ crewmen. He crossed the deck to where Rangiku stood with Nel. Groans echoed from both crews as the men assessed their individual situations.

Rangiku took Nel's sword as the other woman pointed at the quarterdeck cabin wall. "Hey! Whose is that?" She pointed to the small sooty handprints dotting the wall. She spun around to find the maker. She giggled when she spotted Ichigo. "Pumpkin hair!"

Ichigo stopped a few feet away, confusion evident as Nel smiled at him. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Rangiku.

"Can't exactly tell," she said, holstering her sword and glancing to Nel. "But something's up."

Nel advanced on Ichigo, reaching up to ruffle his hair before he could stop her. "Ooh, orangey! And soft, too."

He knocked her hand away, disarmed by her shapely figure trapped in the goofy antics and her seeming ignorance of her surroundings.

Across the deck Zaraki had found Tesla.

The smaller first mate bowed, hands high. "I beg your mercy, Captain. I wish to throw in with your crew. Please. I was forced into piracy. I'm simply an honest sailor in troubled service."

Nnoitra spat on the deck as he witnessed Tesla's submission. "You rat! You yellow-bellied, diseased —"

"Shut up," Ikkaku growled at him, slapping metal cuffs on him and pushing him to the open hatch where the _Bleeding Sister's_ manacled crew was being led.

He shoved Nnoitra ahead of him, sword at the tall captain's back. Nnoitra stepped closer to Tesla as he passed him and Zaraki, giving his mate a kick to the hip.

"You cur!" he screamed, posing to kick again as Zaraki used the flat side of his sword blade to knock his foot away.

"Move on!" Zaraki ordered.

Nnoitra glowered at Tesla as Ikkaku prodded him on. He made a garbled sound, as if he wanted to spit on the kneeling man, but only managed to spout a fresh trickle of blood from the puncture at his neck from Zaraki's sword point.

"Lock 'em all below," Zaraki commanded Ikkaku and Renji. He looked to Tesla. "Except this one. Maybe he's got a few answers for us. Renji, take a crew to the _Bleeding Sister_ and lock her down 'til we can come back for her!"

"Aye, Captain!" Renji called. He waved over several crewmen to assist.

Ichigo looked to Zaraki, as did Rangiku.

"We'll get your girl first, boy," Zaraki told him. "Then we'll see to the spoils."

Nel was still fascinated by Ichigo's hair. She touched his temple. "I seen a girl with hair like yours," she said, fingers flipping a lock as he looked to her.

"Like mine?" he said, annoyance forgotten.

She nodded.

Uryuu made his way across the deck amid the fallen bodies, some of which had moved to the rail on their own, some dragged by other members of Zaraki's crew. He looked to Nel. "Hair the color of his?"

She nodded, smiling. "Her name was O-ri-hi-me," she chanted.

Chad joined them. He was the only one that had received any injuires, although minor. A shallow laceration at one shoulder was timidly bleeding. He holstered his sword and gave Nel a thorough study. "Where?"

She shrugged. "She's on the _Five Mirrors_ now."

Zaraki nodded to Tesla still kneeling. "Get up. You've got some answering to do." He glanced to Rangiku. "Get our bearings and make for Aizen's last known location."

"He can't be seen," Tesla offered.

Zaraki grabbed his collar and pulled him to his feet. "We know that! How does he do it?"

The less injured of Zaraki's crew gathered around their captain as Renji took his crew and swung over to the _Bleeding Sister_ and Ikkaku secured Nnoitra's wounded crew in the brig hold.

But Tesla had no answers. He told them what he knew, which was little, and that alchemy was involved, but he'd never been on the _Five Mirrors_ when it had disappeared and the trick of eye wasn't evident to anyone on the water.

Rangiku listened, absorbing what little news she had of her one-time fiancé. She took up her post at the nameless ship's quarterdeck, looking out over the water to where she'd last seen the _Five Mirrors_.

* * *

Grimmjow was still watching the _Five Mirrors_ when it shimmered out of sight beneath the blazing sun. He immediately twisted the scope's end, looking beyond the bow's newly attached bowsprit, focusing on the ripple of shining waters where he'd seen Aizen's ship disappear.

There was nothing.

He snapped down the spyglass and glared at _The Pantera's_ deck where the pirate crew was looking from the wide blue waters to their captain.

"Full sail!" he ordered, ready to strangle anything within reach.

"Aye, Captain!" came a chorus of men running for the halyards.

Grimmjow turned to the helmsman, who was already nodding, one gnarled hand on the steering wheel. "Got their bearing, Captain!"

Grimmjow stood at the quarterdeck rail, blue gaze over the cobalt waters northwest where the _Five Mirrors_ had winked from sight.

Every sail over _The Pantera's_ deck was filled, angled to catch the slightest of breeze. He raised the scope to his eye, closing the other as he searched the watery horizon for a ship he knew was there.

"Dammit, you coward," he grumbled to the _Five Mirror's_ master. "Show yourself and –"

"Ship made!" Cat cried from the portside rail, also looking through a scope, slightly west from where Grimmjow was watching.

Grimmjow turned his attention in that direction, squinting through the scope for any sign of a ship. After a moment he too saw it. Smaller than the _Five Mirror's_ had been, the ship was barely discernible at the distance.

"Can't be the _Five Mirrors_," he said as Cat approached the quarterdeck stairs.

"Nay, Captain, but it's someone. Jiruga, maybe."

Grimmjow didn't look to him, attention trained on the new ship that was merely a spot on the water. "Or Schiffer. For a moment his scrutiny stayed on the ship. It appeared to lengthen, but not move, neither falling back nor gaining on the last location of the _Five Mirrors_. He shook his head at the indistinct image. "Just listing; looks like they're turning in circles." His eyes narrowed as he swung the scope back to where he'd last seen the _Five Mirrors_.

"Aizen first, and if Orihime's not with him," he said, sending the unknown ship a cursory glance, unaware it was actually two ships in close battle, "then we'll take them down, too."

There was a sudden flap of sails billowing alongside the foremast as the crew raised another set of smaller sails temporarily strung on a makeshift crossbeam. Within moments _The Pantera_ responded, gaining speed to the last point of visibility of the _Five Mirrors_.

Grimmjow's sharp stare went out across the waters, cursing beneath his breath as he searched again for the elusive target. "Look for her wake, Cat," he said, eyes not leaving the water. "It's all we've got now."

"Ain't much, Captain," Cat said, stepping closer to the bottom stair, eyes also on the far waters. "You know Captain Aizen barely moves when he goes silent."

Grimmjow nodded. "But he's got to keep the sails raised to hide," he said, knowing it was little advantage trying to find an invisible ship by its wake alone. Even then they'd have to be close – too close – to see any wake.

"It's all we've got now, Cat."

* * *

Rangiku stood at the top of the quarterdeck stair as the dozen men around Tesla took turns questioning him, gaining little ground. She looked to Nel sitting on the short stair, frowning as she watched the woman finger the green braid at her shoulder. She stepped closer, ever mindful of the nameless ship's progress northeast to where they'd last seen the _Five Mirrors_ vanish. Zaraki had given the woman her sword back, claiming her no real threat.

Rangiku figured it was partly due to the willing smile Nel gave her captain.

Nel looked to her with a pout, eyes shifting to where the _Bleeding Sister_ was listing south of the ship where Renji had secured its location as best he could with deadweight anchors. "Nnoitra said I'd get my ship back when he got this one," she said, lips in an exaggerated sulk. "Now neither of us has a ship."

Rangiku looked from the _Bleeding Sister_ to the interview Zaraki was conducting with Tesla in the midst of the main deck. "We'll be back for it, once Captain Zaraki finds this Orihime girl. Captain hasn't even been aboard it yet to unload the loot, if there is any."

Nel smiled. "I can have my ship back?"

Rangiku returned her smile. "Maybe. We'll see what Captain says."

Nel nodded, sighing as her eyes roved to Ichigo. She giggled. "Pumpkin head." She spread her feet on the bottom step, leaning her elbows on her bent knees as she glanced to the ash gray handprints on the wall. "Who made those?"

"I did!" Yachiru popped from beneath the short stair, one hand sticky from the cinnamon candy stick Yumichika had given her to keep her quiet in the cabin during the fight.

Nel's smile brightened. "Hi!"

"Hi." Yachiru plopped down beside her on the stair step. "You don't look like a pirate."

Nel put one hand to her pants, a movement Rangiku watched for any sign of trouble. She was the only one of Nnoitra's crew who hadn't remained disarmed.

She held her hand out to Yachiru. In it lay a short black twisted bean. "Vanilla," Nel said. "It's fun to eat. You suck on it."

Yachiru took it, smiling as the examined the wrinkled black bean. She sniffed it, and then stuck the end in her mouth. She smiled, nodding happily at the flavor.

In the center of the ship, Zaraki had had enough of Tesla. He turned to Ikkaku and Yumichika, both who'd watched Tesla's interrogation for details of Aizen and any news of Orihime. "He can stay topside," he decided, looking out over the crew as they bandaged each other in anticipation of another encounter, this time with the crew of an invisible ship.

Ichigo watched Tesla ease back to the mast post and look out over the deep blue of the waters. "Is she all right?"

Tesla glanced slowly back to him. "The last I saw her, she was unharmed." He nodded. "She was on Captain Aizen's ship. We left her there a few days ago." He cleared his throat. "I've been waiting for my moment to escape that filthy pirate's crew. I owe your captain a great deal."

Ichigo looked to where Zaraki was speaking with Nel. "She acts like a child. What's wrong with her?"

Tesla grinned, but stopped before it gave anything away. "With Nel? Why, nothing. She's simple."

Ichigo nodded, still watching the woman as Yachiru pulled a small leather pouch from under the quarterdeck stairs.

Ikkaku wasn't too happy about Tesla's freedom and he gave him a stiff nod, watching him closely. "You so much as breathe the wrong way, you turncoat, and I'll personally put you to bobbing on the water."

Tesla nodded, committing a short bow.

Zaraki was oblivious to the contents of Yachiru's pouch as she knelt before Nel. He followed Rangiku's gaze across the water north of the unnamed ship. "How the hell do we find a ship that can't be seen?"

Rangiku crossed her arms, sighing as she shook her head, blue eyes searching for any sign of anything. "We can't just run up on it, Captain. At this rate a collision is very possible."

"Ooh, that looks like fun!" Nel squealed behind them.

Zaraki and Rangiku turned to look down. Yachiru was wrist deep in the leather pouch. She extracted her hand. It was covered with ashes, and she planted a splayed finger handprint on the quarterdeck's lower wall. She smiled. "It's not as pretty as chalks, but –"

"Ugh!" Yumichika cried as he stopped a few feet from Yachiru, and now Nel, who was readying to stick her hand in the pouch of ashes.

All eyes turned to the gray ashes that clung to Yumichika's shirt, carried by the breeze from Yachiru's artwork. He wiped at it quickly, which only smeared it into gray stripes on his pale green shirt.

"Yachiru!" He glared at her, and then some of the venom left his face as Zaraki looked to him.

Rangiku frowned, glancing from Yachiru to Yumichika, and then to where Uryuu was debating a bout of seasickness at the starboard rail. Her attention darted to the empty waters north of them.

"Captain!" She clutched Zaraki's arm, only a foot away from her as he too watched the seas. "Hey! Quincy boy!" she called to Uryuu as he leaned at the rail.

Uryuu was in the middle of keeping his latest meal when he heard her. "Yes?"

"Are you any good with that bow?" she asked as he came near the quarterdeck.

Ichigo, Chad, and Renji looked to her with a different type of interest.

Uryuu stood straighter, nodding. "Of course I am. I'm a Quincy. We're the best in –"

"Can you shoot with a loaded arrow?" she asked.

"Of course. Quincy arrows are the strongest and truest in any archery realm."

"Even in wind?" she asked.

Zaraki had picked up on her train of thought; Ikkaku only scowled at her.

"Do you remember where we last seen the _Five Mirrors_?" Rangiku asked. She pointed north off the bow of the ship. "Do you remember how far away it was?"

Now Uryuu's voice lost a bit of confidence. "_That_ far?"

Zaraki grinned, one large hand patting Yachiru's head as she stood at the step, still awaiting any chastisement for her handprints. "Every hand to the galley!" he ordered to any crewman on his feet. "Bring up the ashes! Every spec of them!"

A chorus of confused "_Aye, Captain_" went through the crew.

Yumichika slowed wiping the ash from his shirt, uncertain.

"Get every arrow you brought, Quincy!" Zaraki called to Uryuu, who was standing too close to be yelled at. The captain turned to Ikkaku and Renji heading to the galley hatch. "Get every arrow and dart onboard to this boy! He's got some shooting to do!"

* * *

On the _Five Mirrors,_ Orihime was ignorant of the fight between the _Bleeding Sister_ and the unnamed ship. She'd spent the day fretting, feeling the silence around her enveloping the ship, eating at her nerves until they were frayed and raw.

She couldn't hold her breath as long as she waited. She resorted to standing at the aft of the ship, eyes on the few dots of ships Aizen, Tousen, and a few other officers were watching across the waters off the bow.

They'd identified one. It was southeast of the _Five Mirrors_, moving faster than the other more leisurely paced ships more south of them.

"We have a winner," Aizen said in a moderate tone from the main deck deeper into the center of the ship.

Orihime looked to him. He was talking to Tousen, the spyglass raised to his eye to focus on the two ships south and slightly west of them.

He nodded, evidently satisfied. "Someone has won. Now we'll see how that affects us." He spared her a brief glance before turning to speak in a low tone to Tousen.

Everyone had spoken in low tones, barely murmurs for commands, every voice hushed to keep silent their invisible secret as the ship rode the waters at a languid pace.

Orihime looked to the small ships off the bow. They were both too far away to identify, and Aizen seemed to be in no hurry to engage them. She knew there'd been a fight, hearing Nnoitra and Ulquiorra's names bartered about by Aizen and the officers, but no one guessed at the identity of the second ship.

No one identified the winner of the battle, either.

Orihime was still praying that it was not _The Pantera_ who'd lost south of them, perhaps to Nnoitra, and her prayers were acknowledged, but not in the manner she hoped.

"There," Aizen said, mostly in her direction.

She stood straighter in the shade of the mirrored sails, looking southeast of them at the enlarging dot no one had yet given a name.

He lowered the scope and waved to the crew, speaking too low for Orihime to hear.

Her attention shot back to the ship closing in from the southeast. It was coming in bow first, no flag flying above its heavily laden sails. She went to the portside rail, quietly, moving as a few of the crewmen passed between her and Aizen.

Her fingernails dug into the wooden rail as her eyes moved over the meekly swelling waters. Little wake followed the _Five Mirrors_, its pace modest to avoid detection by rougher waters. Her eyes searched the swiftly approaching ship, its clutter of additional sails confusing her.

Amazed at the speed at which it moved, Orihime nearly missed the first glimpse of blue hair as its master climbed the quarterdeck stair and looked out over the bow to the water between them.

She caught her breath, pulse jumping as she swallowed down a hail.

Center of the deck Aizen was also watching. He snapped down the spyglass. "It's _The Pantera_," he said, voice still low.

A murmur went through the crew, also low.

Aizen frowned at the two ships off the bow's south side. "Then who are they?"

Orihime didn't look to him or the other ships. She smiled, watching _The Pantera_ gain in speed, her fingers nervous on the rail as Grimmjow became recognizable on the ship's raised deck, still far away but his silhouette matching the memory she'd imprinted in her heart. Some of the smile dipped from her face as she realized _The Pantera_ was aligned just north of the _Five Mirrors_, unaware of them, or the proximity that was being eaten away by the full sails. She swung around, spotting Aizen speaking to Tousen, both smirking.

She looked back to _The Pantera_ still half a mile away. At its present speed and course, it would pass the _Five Mirrors_ without becoming aware of it.

Orihime waved frantically, holding her breath as she kept Aizen's command of silence.

No one on _The Pantera_ acknowledged her, every man standing at the rails searching eagerly for an invisible ship.

Orihime glanced back to Aizen. A twist of a smile curled his lips in smug knowledge. She looked to the crew. All were wordlessly unsheathing swords and knives, readying for a silent attack if the encounter arose.

She couldn't decide if Aizen planned to let _The Pantera_ sail past them or whether the _Five Mirrors_ would turn to set course to engage Grimmjow.

Her hands laced the rail in a fierce grip. "Grimmjow! We're here!" she cried at the top of her lungs. Her voice broke the thick silence that had reigned on the _Five Mirrors_ for hours.

"Grimmjow! Captain Jaegerjaquez!" she screamed, waving and jumping now as footsteps rushed to her from the center of the deck. "Hail _The Pantera_! Grimm– eek!"

Aizen's hand closed over Orihime's mouth, his other arm wrapping around her waist as he lifted her from her feet and dragged her backwards from the rail.

"My patience is up, Maid Orihime," he promised tightly, face muffled in her hair at her ear as he turned her to the quarterdeck. "That was your last mistake."

* * *

**Authors' Note:** _Thanks again for reading and for all the reviews!_


	18. Chapter 18

Every hand on the ship with no name was busily tying sacks of ashes to the collection of darts and arrows Zaraki's crew had gathered. Nel looked on at the activities, at once clapping at the new game and questioning how Uryuu was going to shoot at a ship none of them could see.

"We don't have to see it," he said, eyes fastened on the arrow in his hands. He didn't look to her as she hovered close, her chest shading his work.

Ichigo, Renji, Chad, and the rest of the crewmen worked quickly, each feeling the seconds passing hastily as the _Five Mirrors_ stealthily moved under invisible sails, and soon a pile of arrows had amounted on the quarterdeck. Rangiku had kept watch with the scope, searching for any hint she could find of her one-time friend and fiancé on an unseen ship deck.

Zaraki threw the largest shadow over them. "'Bout done?" he demanded of the crewmen, his single-eyed glare resting on the Quincy. "I don't want to lose the last position of that damn ghost."

Uryuu stood up, still dwarfed by the captain. "I have enough. One good shot would do it, but I want every available –"

"Grimmjow! We're here!"

Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu looked up from their work as Orihime's voice floated across the distant sea. Ichigo and Chad stood, eyes searching the rippling waters for the location of the sound. Ichigo looked to Uryuu.

"That was Orihime," he said, gaze going back out over the empty-looking sea. "Did she say –?"

"Grimmjow!" came Orihime's shout again. "Captain Jaegerjaquez! Hail _The Pantera_! Grimm—!"

The cry ended abruptly.

Ichigo searched the waters, seeing nothing. He turned and grabbed Uryuu's shoulder, pulling him to the bow rail. "You heard that, right?"

Uryuu nodded.

"Over there," Chad said, pointing to an innocent expanse of empty water.

All eyes went to the water the tall youth indicated.

"That?" Ikkaku pointed in the direction. "But that's too..."

Then they all saw it. A tiny shape was steadily growing larger, heading not toward them, but also in the direction from where the sound had come.

"Captain Jaegerjaquez is here?" A barrage of thoughts flooded Ichigo, most centering on the stolen horses for which Grimmjow had been responsible. Nel was nodding as he looked to her. "He is?"

She smiled, nodding more. "They're friends, I think."

Ichigo stared at her dumbfounded. "They are? Orihime and Captain Jaegerjaquez...?" He turned back to the sea.

The ship had gained considerable distance in the short time, moving swiftly under its burden of sails.

"But she's ..." Ichigo scowled intently over the waves, searching as his thoughts aligned to what his friend and former fiancée had called out. "She's calling for Jaegerjaquez. Hailing _The Pantera_," he realized. "That means she's not on it; she's still on the _Five Mirrors_." He glanced to Renji and Ikkaku. "Right?"

Both of the crewmen kept their vigilance on the water, nodding in unison.

"There are two ships out there?" Chad said more than asked.

Uryuu had grabbed the stoutest arrow he could find and was fitting it into his bow. "Give me some room."

The crew stepped back some as he took his position at the rail.

Ichigo glanced back to Nel. "You're certain Orihime and this Jaegerjaquez are... are friends?"

She nodded, green hair bouncing. "He took her from Nnoitra."

It was enough for Ichigo. If the blue-haired captain had stolen Orihime from the pirate in Zaraki's hold and if Orihime was shouting for his aid, then Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was more ally than horse thief – at the moment.

"Then that ship we can see is _The Pantera_?" Chad asked as Uryuu extended the bow and drew back the string with the weighty load of ash.

"Yup," Renji said, eyes on the sea between the three ships. "And the one we can't see is the _Five Mirrors_."

Uryuu knew they spoke more, but his concentration was on his aim. There was no ship to aim for, but he knew the general direction he had last heard Orihime's voice. He aimed there, high enough to hit a sail should the arrow reach that far, and north enough to miss the visible ship, _The Pantera_. He pulled the string back, ignoring the rumbling he could feel in the deck boards.

He let the arrow fly.

The arrow shot out, quivering a little in the wind and from the sack of ashes that was tied behind its point. It angled up, traveled far over the cobalt waters, arched into a peak, and then began its descent down. A trail of ash that escaped from the bag followed it. It landed in the water.

A round of sighs escaped everyone on the quarterdeck.

Uryuu was already reaching for another arrow.

"Keep 'em going," Zaraki said, his massive hand already on his sword hilt in anticipation. "Keep this boy stocked!"

Uryuu lifted the bow and shot again, fighting back his mounting desperation and nausea. This time the arrow flew out, crossed the water in a slightly lower trajectory, and suddenly stopped, seemingly in midair. The bag below it broke and ash rained down.

A filmy gray covered a square area over the water, dusting the invisible sail.

A cheer went up from the onlookers standing at the quarterdeck beside Uryuu. A dozen hands slapped his shoulder, nearly making him collapse.

"You did it!" Chad said, handing Uryuu a clutch of arrows. "Keep shooting!"

Ichigo grinned at the suspended square of ash in the distance. "You got it, Quincy!"

Uryuu fit the next arrow and shot toward the first. This time the powdery gray burst onto another sail and covered more of the _Five Mirrors_.

The definite shape of a ship began to appear.

Another round of congratulations went up, but this time it was drowned out by a roar of another sort from the main deck.

Zaraki turned at the noise.

Behind them on the deck, Nnoitra was charging across the ship, Tesla at his side, his crew now free from the hold.

"To arms!" Zaraki cried out, grabbing his sword from his scabbard.

The crew clamored down the stairs and over the quarterdeck rail to the main deck to rush Nnoitra's now escaped crew.

"Ha!" Nnoitra bellowed. "Not done with ya yet!"

"You bastard!" Ikkaku bit out at Tesla.

"Keep shooting!" Rangiku told Uryuu as she drew her sword. She grabbed Nel's arm as the woman frowned, watching Nnoitra and Zaraki make their first clash at the quarterdeck stairs, sword on sword in a mighty clang that shook both captains. Nel looked to Rangiku. "Who will you fight for?"

Nel smiled. "Pumpkin head."

"Good. You protect Uryuu while he shoots."

Nel nodded and Rangiku turned to join the fray.

* * *

On _The Pantera,_ Grimmjow had also heard Orihime call his name. He stood at the ship's port side rail, attention snapping out across the water as she shouted to him. He saw nothing, no break in the waves that would indicate the _Five Mirrors_' location, no shadow of the ship on the rolling waters.

"Cat!" he called.

"Aye!" The first mate was at the rail with a dozen other crewmen. "I heard her, too, Captain."

For a long, agonizing moment, Grimmjow searched the waters, hoping for something more from the girl he'd left against his better judgment. Then he heard her hail again, and this time her cry broke off too soon, leaving his name hanging.

Grimmjow turned to the helmsman. "Turn us northeast!"

"Aye, Captain!" the officer called back, shifting the wheel with a heavy hand.

Cat watched the waves, straining to listen. "She was close," he said.

Grimmjow nodded. "Ready for battle collision!"

It wasn't an ordered he had ever given before, but the crew understood this was a calculated collision; hopefully not a fatal one. Grimmjow let his focus stray past the immediate sea waters to the other dot further out. It was moving closer, but despite that, appeared smaller than it had been. He didn't try to make sense of it.

Around the deck the crew was scrambling to tie down the last few items against the potential impact of finding the _Five Mirrors._ They were still busy when a shout came from the lookout in the crow's nest overhead.

"Something's coming in!" the pirate cried down to them. He pointed upward, disbelief in his face. "Can't see what!"

Grimmjow glared across the sea, not wanting to lose the point from where he'd heard Orihime's hail. A moment later a fuzzy gray explosion of mist settled over the water. He frowned.

"What the hell is that?"

Before anyone could voice the same question around him, another projectile burst near the first one, and this time the faint outline of a vessel materialized under a rain of ashes. It was followed by more, each arrow with its load of ashes slowly defining the _Five Mirrors_ until it was visible as a dusty, gray ship.

It was also much closer than Grimmjow had expected, nearly on an interception path.

_The Pantera_ had made good time under its extra sail power, and the _Five Mirrors_ materialized only ten ship lengths' away. Grimmjow drew his sword, the other hand wrapping around the nearest mast rope.

"Full broadside!" he called to the helmsman, searching Aizen's deck for Orihime. She was nowhere to be seen.

_The Pantera_ moved swiftly, careening a turn that leaned the sail-heavy vessel directly at the target ship's hull at the forecastle. Grimmjow grinned, seeing Aizen, Tousen, and the rest of the crew brace for the charging ship.

_The Pantera_ couldn't have stopped even if Grimmjow wanted it to. Within moments the second bowsprit was aligned to the _Five Mirrors'_ hull and in a measured joust, the metal of the long point shrieked into the victim ship's wooden side.

Pirates on both ships lurched to the rails at the impact, the collision jarring every bone in every body as _The Pantera's_ bowsprit crashed into the _Five Mirrors'_ port side forecastle. The impact stopped both ships on the water.

With a battle cry _The Pantera's_ crew boarded the second ship, some on ropes, others by simply leaping the short distance. The bowsprit had sunk deep into the _Five Mirrors'_ hull, locking the two ships in place as Grimmjow's crew swarmed the deck. The two crews clashed on the ash-dusted ship's deck boards, at once a melee of swords and battle axes.

Grimmjow let the force of the impact's momentum carry him by rope to Aizen's deck. Aizen was waiting for him, sword in hand.

"Hand over the girl!" Grimmjow demanded.

Aizen smiled, a twisted, distrusting smile that he reserved for those who knew his true character best. "All this for that girl-child?" He shook his head as Grimmjow advanced on him. "Not like you, Grimmjow."

"Where is she?"

"Gone."

For a second Grimmjow hesitated, unmoving as the battles exploded around him.

Aizen was slightly ash-covered, giving him a grayer appearance, a somewhat ghostly quality. His sword remained lowered. He waved a hand to the companionway at the rear of the ship. "Feel free to look for her, if you don't believe me, Grimmjow."

There was nothing in Aizen's words that made Grimmjow want to turn his back on the man and he knew it was probably a trap, but the pull to find Orihime was stronger at that moment. He stepped back toward the companionway stairwell, and then quickly ducked below into it.

The long passage was like any other ship's companionway and Grimmjow wasted no time in looking into the small, unlocked rooms he passed in the corridor. Overhead the sounds of battle continued, and he knew it was only a matter of moments before Aizen would likely corner him – hopefully _them_ – below. One room's door was locked, but gave way when he slammed his shoulder against it.

"Orihime?" Inside the room was dim, the window shutters closed and locked. Only a lantern candle still swinging wildly from the ships' collision added any light to the room.

To one corner was a crate, and on it sat Orihime, her hands bound behind her, a blindfold over her eyes, slightly jostled from the collision.

"Orihime!"

He rushed to where she sat, and she turned her face to him, tilting it to one side curiously.

He knelt and pulled the black cloth from her eyes.

She blinked as the blindfold was removed, and then leaned away at seeing him. She gasped, squirming as he embraced her, partly to cut loose her bindings and partly because he wanted to. His fingers moved over the knots at her wrists.

"Who are you?" she asked, still leaning away, her back to the wall behind her.

Grimmjow sat back and looked carefully at her face. "Who am I?"

She nodded, auburn hair rubbing his shoulder as he reached for the long knife at the waistband at the back of his pants. She watched his face turn to her, studying her closely. Her eyes went to his hair, to the scar at his jaw. "You know my name?"

He eased back, watching her eyes search his. "You know who I am." He frowned, the fight raging on deck above momentarily forgotten. He reached around her again, this time his eyes on hers as he instinctively cut the ropes behind her back with the knife. "You don't know me, Orihime?"

Her eyes flicked over his face, dropping to his lips as he leaned over her to see the ropes binding her. "I don't think so."

He swallowed down the first question he wanted to ask, instead slicing through the rope and then pulling her close with one arm. His arm braced over her back as her hands were freed, and then he slid the other hand up her spine, fingers searching for a spot he thought should still be tender.

"What, what are you...?"

She left off speaking as his hand traveled to her neck beneath her hair, lost in its softness for a few seconds before pausing at the nape of her neck. "Ouch," she said into his shoulder as he pushed her hair to one side.

"Damn him," he muttered as he saw the single x-stitch in the skin below Orihime's hairline. "How long have you had this?"

She let herself stay in the confines of his arms, feeling him press on the thread knotted into her skin. "I don't know."

Grimmjow carefully cut loose the threads of the curse stitch that had removed a year from Orihime's memory – had removed memories of _him_ from her. He pulled the tan threads free and brushed the punctured skin at the back of her neck. "You'll be okay, Orihime."

"Oh..." She let her forehead drop to his shoulder, shaking her head slightly as her memories returned, bringing on a sudden headache. She took a deep breath, recognizing everything about him in an instant, smiling at his voice at her ear, his arms around her. "You came back, Grimmjow."

He looked to her as her arms came around him, hands gripping the back of his vest as he made her face him. "You remember?"

She smiled, eyes tearing. "I'm sorry I forgot!"

He grinned and was about to kiss her when Szayel spoke from the doorway.

"I would have done more, but Captain Aizen said only one stitch."

Grimmjow stood and faced the pink-haired man, sword drawn. "You did this."

Szayel was still reaching for his sword, his smirk falling away. "I came to tell you where she was," he said, faltering at his recent work and bragging, backing into the hall as Grimmjow glared at him.

"Liar!"

Orihime had just stood as Grimmjow rammed the sword point into Szayel's stomach. Grimmjow pushed him out the door, driving the sword deeper until Szayel's back hit the opposite wall in the companionway.

Szayel howled in pain, hands on the blade as Grimmjow retracted the sword with a jerk. A spatter of blood followed and Szayel fell to his knees.

Grimmjow turned back to Orihime and grabbed her hand, pulling her quickly past the crumpled form of Szayel. They hurried down the narrow corridor and up the stairs just as the hatch suddenly slammed shut. A rattle of chains sounded and without pause, Grimmjow threw his shoulder to the thick wood. It flung back open, smashing Tousen's chin as he attempted locking it.

Orihime ducked as Grimmjow eluded the blind man's first swipe of sword. Grimmjow shoved him back to the deck, nearly knocking the sword out of his hand.

Tousen's blade flashed, almost cleaving Grimmjow's arm for a second time. "Szayel was supposed to lock you down there! Idiot alchemist."

Grimmjow backhanded a slash with his sword, opening Tousen's tunic across his stomach. "He had to brag first," he bit out, watching the man fall and try to scramble away.

Orihime watched wide-eyed as another swing of the blade sent Tousen prone.

"That's enough," Aizen said, crossing the deck between the injured bodies and battling pirates. He lunged as Grimmjow turned to him, a movement so quick neither Orihime nor Grimmjow saw the sword in his hand before the blade tip was at Grimmjow's throat. "You leave the girl here, Jaegerjaquez. Your visit is over."

Grimmjow grabbed Orihime's hand and pulled her behind him as he faced the pirate captain, his sword still in his hand.

Aizen didn't look to the sword. "Drop your weapon and we'll see about letting you leave uninjured."

Grimmjow shook his head, feeling the sword point notch into his throat. "Not without Orihime."

"Oh, she's staying here." Aizen smiled, looking to Orihime peeking from behind Grimmjow. Around the ship, the other pirates had slowed their battles, turning to look at the captains' standoff, a few with waning allegiance.

Aizen nodded to Orihime. "Come over here, girl." When she hesitated, he added, "Step over here and I'll renegotiate with this traitor."

Grimmjow's hand locked on hers behind him, his other hand twisting the sword he held to one side. "You've broken enough promises, Aizen. No one believes you anymore."

Orihime remained behind Grimmjow, seeing the other pirates watching, some with quickly slipping loyalties. A loud groan of metal and wood bellowed from the forecastle as _The Pantera's_ bowsprit creaked against the hole it had made in the _Five Mirrors'_ hull. A shudder ran through the ships, cracking wood echoing around them and making the deck boards vibrate.

Aizen knew what it meant, but his gaze remained on Orihime. He pushed the tip of the sword into Grimmjow's throat. A trickle of blood ran down his skin.

Orihime shook her head.

"Drop your sword," Aizen said again, this time without the smile. "Your men, too, Grimmjow."

Tousen was now on his feet and he stepped forward and took the sword out of Grimmjow's stubborn grip. He backed up, unseeing eyes focusing on Orihime.

"Come here, Orihime," Aizen said as the two crews watched the confrontation.

Grimmjow felt Orihime's hand unclasp from within his. "No," she breathed to him, looking up as his glare remained on Aizen.

Grimmjow felt her hands at his back, small movements that were unseen to the men standing before them, her fingers lifting the back hem of his vest at his waist.

Aizen smiled, nodding. "Come here, girl. This is no longer your matter."

Grimmjow heard Orihime take a deep breath, summoning her courage.

Aizen smiled more, this time almost kindly. He beckoned with one hand, seeing her hesitation as she clasped her hands behind her back, contritely stepping around Grimmjow.

Orihime took another reluctant step, placing herself directly before Grimmjow, facing Aizen. Grimmjow saw what she held in her hands behind her back. He almost grinned at the sight of his knife she had taken, her body hiding it from Aizen and the crews. Her posture was still submissive as she faced Aizen, her head somewhat bowed, hands behind her skirt to hide the knife. Grimmjow figured most crewmen's eyes were at the strain such a posture would have put on the girl's bosom in the periwinkle dress.

Aizen nodded, looking with satisfaction from her to Grimmjow. "We can negotiate –"

It was as far as Aizen got. Grimmjow grabbed the knife from Orihime and in one fluid movement, pulled her out of the way and rushed Aizen. Before the pirate captain could finish his offer at renegotiation, Grimmjow stabbed the knife beneath his ribs.

At the same moment, Aizen's blade was shoved back into Grimmjow's shoulder.

There was a shout from Cat and then the entire horde of pirates went back into battle mode.

"No!" Orihime screamed, seeing the blade deep in Grimmjow's shoulder.

He pushed her away, intent on finishing Aizen now staggering back from him, the blade thrust clean under his ribcage, protruding just to the side at the back of Aizen's spine.

He glared at Grimmjow as he was pushed backwards to the main derrick with the knife, his own sword point still jammed into the black vest just below Grimmjow's collarbone. Grimmjow's hand went to Aizen's arm and knocked it from the sword hilt, his other hand still on the knife handle that was slowly covering with blood at Aizen's ribs. He heaved the blade farther into him, pinning Aizen to the wooden mast post.

Aizen choked out a sputter of blood as Grimmjow stepped back and wrenched the sword from his shoulder. "You're sink...sinking us!" he grumbled. As if to emphasize this, the ships made another groan of wood and metal as the waves bobbed the vessels against the impact point. "...she worth it to you?"

"Yes. I'm not going down. Neither is she. But you are." Grimmjow's hand tightened on the sword he'd taken from Aizen, not liking the feel of the hilt in his hand. He looked back to Aizen, a different grin on his face. "You can have your sword back."

Orihime gasped as Grimmjow thrust Aizen's sword into the pirate captain already stabbed to the post. The sword blade shoved deeper than Grimmjow's knife, making a second hole beside the first in Aizen, effectively holding him to the post.

"You bastard..." Aizen coughed a froth of blood, hands clutching the sword hilt, trying futilely to pull it free.

Grimmjow jerked his knife free from Aizen and turned to look out over the crews. A larger wave caught the vessels locked together, and the _Five Mirrors_ groaned as a bigger hole ripped just above the water line as _The Pantera's_ bowsprit rode higher on the sea.

Some of the crews were still fighting, some simply watching. At Cat's feet lay Tousen's body. A few of the pirates from both vessels were looking past the bowsprit chopping out a larger hole in the _Five Mirrors'_ forecastle side. Another ship approached the two ships jammed together.

Grimmjow's attention remained on the new ship, hearing Aizen's low cursing, out of the corner of his eye seeing him try to pull his own sword from his abdomen.

Most of Aizen's crew had lost interest in the fight, some for loyalty reasons, others because the ship was shifting as water ran into the hole in the hull.

Orihime went to Grimmjow's side, following his gaze on the new ship, one that flew no identifiable banners. He felt her hand at his side, fingers slowly easing up to the hole freely bleeding at his shoulder. He grasped her hand, seeing a mixture of relief and concern in her eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded, standing nearer as they both looked back to Zaraki's ship now close enough to see clearly the crew lined against the starboard rail.

"Who the hell is that?" Cat asked as he met Grimmjow where Aizen was losing the battle against his own sword.

"Ichigo?" Orihime asked, eyes widening as she identified a face among those at the rail on the ship without a name.

Grimmjow's gaze turned to her. "Your fiancé?" His eyes narrowed on the new ship.

"Yes. Oh, ex-fiancé." She smiled, wrapping both arms around Grimmjow's elbow at her side. "It's him. And Nel!"

The figures along the nameless ship's rail became better defined as the new ship turned broadside to the _Five Mirrors_ still locked with _The Pantera_. For a few seconds the three crews on the decks estimated each other, a few recognizing others.

The largest figure at the rail towered over every other man and the few women at the rail. Zaraki raised a bandaged arm. "Hail, victors!" he called, grinning a nearly maniacal smile at Grimmjow. "You are the victors, I assume."

"Hell, yes!" Grimmjow gave a quick scrutiny over the faces, resting on Ichigo. "Who asks?"

"Zaraki!" He gestured a wide arm toward his combined crew and few passengers. "And others! You know you're on a sinking ship?"

Grimmjow felt Orihime's fingers tighten on his arm. "Not for long!"

Zaraki was about to speak, but all eyes turned to Rangiku as she swung by rope over to the _Five Mirrors'_ deck. She landed, gave Tousen's dead body a glimpse, and strode up to where Aizen was still attached to the mast post.

"Will you be boarding?" Grimmjow called to Zaraki, watching Rangiku as she drew her sword, her attention on Aizen.

A moment later, every free rope on the third ship was used to carry Zaraki's crew and passengers over to the _Five Mirrors'_ deck. There was a few unsettling moments of suspicion, but most of Aizen's crew had lost their taste for battle.

Grimmjow took Orihime's hand in his less bloodied one as Ichigo crossed the deck to them. An awkward moment passed as Ichigo studied Grimmjow and her.

"Captain Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," he said.

Grimmjow nodded, watching Ichigo, but still aware of Zaraki boarding and making his way through the bloodstained deck. "Kurosaki, I suppose."

Ichigo nodded, eyes on Orihime. "Are you all right, Orihime?" He glanced for a moment at Grimmjow. "You want to be here? With him by choice?"

She nodded, smiling. "How did you find us?"

Nel bounded up to them, stopping at Ichigo to ruffle his hair before looking to Orihime. "We found you!"

"How'd you get here?" Grimmjow asked her.

Nel pointed to Zaraki's ship. "Nnoitra's in the brig!"

Grimmjow grinned, already liking Zaraki's mindset.

Ichigo glanced at Grimmjow. "What's going on here? With you two?"

A loud groan and the sound of snapping timbers echoed across the deck as _The Pantera's_ bowsprit ripped a larger hole in the _Five Mirrors'_ side. All eyes went to the damage as the second ship tipped, sending some of the crew tumbling.

Zaraki shot a look to Grimmjow.

Grimmjow was still watching Ichigo, but he turned to Zaraki. "Captain Zaraki, is it?"

Zaraki grinned.

Grimmjow nodded to his ship. "I've got a ship to cut loose. Will you take Maid Orihime aboard your ship until _The Pantera_ is made safe?"

Orihime's gaze went to Grimmjow's ship. "You mean... it might sink?"

Grimmjow kept his attention on Zaraki. "But I want her back."

"Orihime is not going anywhere on a leaking ship," Ichigo said, taking a step toward her, his hand on the hilt of his sword at his side. "And she's not going anywhere with you," he said. He saw the hurt look flash through Orihime's face. "Unless she wants to."

She smiled, nodding to him.

Grimmjow didn't like the idea of letting her out of his sight – and onto yet another ship's deck again – but the tilting deck of the _Five Mirrors_ and the steadily dipping bow of _The Pantera_ were too much danger to ignore. He looked to Zaraki, who was grinning with satisfaction at Rangiku as she stood questioning Aizen pinned to the post.

"Captain Zaraki, do I have your word Maid Orihime will be returned to me?"

Zaraki glanced in his direction, and then briefly at Orihime. "If that's what she wants."

Orihime nodded.

Zaraki shrugged his huge shoulders. "Yeah, we'll stay."

A sudden slap from Aizen's direction turned every head to where Rangiku stood. Her sword was still in her hand, her face both enraged and desperate as her free hand burned from striking the man before her.

"Where is he?" she demanded, eyeing the sword still embedded in Aizen's body. "Tell me or I'll finish you now!"

Aizen was pale from blood loss and fatigue except for Rangiku's red slap mark at his cheek. He managed a final sneer. "He left...you..."

"Damn you! Where's Gin?" she asked, emphasizing the query by shoving her hand to the sword hilt, jabbing the blade at an angle inside him.

Aizen gritted his teeth. "Go to hell..."

"Officer Ichimaru?" Orihime asked, looking from Rangiku to Grimmjow and back again. "He's in the brig. He argued with Captain Aizen and –"

Rangiku dashed to the hold hatch and threw it open. "Gin! Gin?" She leaped into the stairwell, calling for him as she descended.

Grimmjow took Orihime's hand and went to Ichigo. "Take her to Captain Zaraki's ship for safety." A crooked grin turned one side of his face as he saw a bit of blush pass over Orihime when he looked to her. "I'll bring you with me when _The Pantera's_ seaworthy again."

She shook her head, hand sliding to his bleeding chest as Ichigo frowned at both of them. "Let me go with you, Grimmjow. Please? I won't be in the way."

He shook his head, eyes resting on her lips as a pout came to them. "It's not safe yet. I'll get you soon."

She nodded, feeling his arm slip around her waist, but only lightly as he nodded to Ichigo.

"Your word, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo nodded. "My word. Come on, Orihime. It's not safe here."

A scream broke from the hold, and every pirate turned to where Rangiku had disappeared. "It's filling with water!" she cried out to them. "Captain Zaraki! Renji!"

Half a dozen crewmen raced for the hold hatch as the _Five Mirrors_ keeled to one side. The sound of water rushing to the port side was followed by the ship making a sudden shift, now fighting for buoyancy as the bellows filled and flooded the brig.

There was a skirmish in the hold as Zaraki, Renji, Ikkaku, and several other men worked below deck as the rest of the crews began their own negotiations for quarter off the sinking ship. Ichigo took Orihime's arm.

"Come on; you'll be safe on the... well, Captain Zaraki's ship." He grinned at her, seeing her gaze remain on Grimmjow, who looked back at both of them. "He hasn't got a name for his ship."

* * *

Within moments Grimmjow's crew had left the floundering _Five Mirrors_, taking with them some of the crew who had quickly alleged loyalties to _The Pantera's_ captain. Back on the ship, Grimmjow had them chained below in the ship's brig and gave orders to his crew.

"Cut us loose!" he told the few workmen who were already at the wooden bowsprit with saws and axes. He watched as Orihime was escorted by Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu onto the nameless ship's deck, with Nel buzzing excitedly around her.

It took fifteen minutes to cut off the bowsprit. It fell into the water between the ships and gave _The Pantera_ immediate buoyancy. Now riding higher in the water minus its victim's dead weight, a cheer went up from Grimmjow's crew. It was followed by a rush to repair the cracks and loosened boards around the bow hull. Within minutes the victim ship turned to one side, the forecastle heaviest with water. It sunk lower.

Moments later the _Five Mirrors_ was nearly port side flat in the water, her deck sloped sharply to the late afternoon sky. The unnamed ship was close enough to run a gangplank and a dripping wet Rangiku emerged from the hold with Gin Ichimaru drenched from head to foot, and with Zaraki, Renji, and Ikkaku soaked to their chests. Some of Aizen's crew was now on the unnamed ship, sharing cells with Nnoitra's defeated crew. No one claimed Tousen's body.

Aizen was still pinned to the mast post. The wooden sail timber was almost flat on the water, level with the sea, the canvas and dust-covered mirror sails weighting as the sea rippled over the expanse of cloth. He was intermittently visible, sputtering air and blood in bubbles when the _Five Mirrors_ dipped him below water, then surfacing long enough to gasp for air, only to have the water in the ship redistribute again, pulling him lower under the sea in a slow, agonizing drowning death.

It had nearly been Ichimaru's death, too, had Rangiku not found his cell nearly filled with water and, with the aid of Zaraki, Renji, and Ikkaku, been able to force the cell's lock.

Orihime stood at the nameless ship's rail, watching the repairs being made on _The Pantera_. She had watched Ichimaru being helped aboard under Rangiku's embrace, his soaked form moments from drowning in the leaking ship's hold.

Orihime had answered Ichigo's questions, thanked him and Chad and Uryuu, returned Nel's greetings. Ichigo was still at her side, watching her as she looked out over the sea where the _Five Mirrors_ had vanished into a watery graveyard. He'd seen the way she looked at Grimmjow; there was no fear in her. He hadn't expected any, not since he'd heard her call out for the pirate captain while Aizen's ship was invisible.

"You really want to be on that deck?" he finally asked.

She nodded, smiling more at the mention. She looked up at him. "Thank you again, Ichigo. I can't believe you're really here." Her gaze went to the center of the deck where Zaraki's crew and Chad and Uryuu were swapping battle stories and the Quincy was leaning, somewhat sickly, against a stack of crates. "You really came all this way to see if my letter was genuine?"

He shrugged, glancing to where Grimmjow was watching them from _The Pantera_. "It didn't make sense for you to want to flee with that Aizen pirate. I wanted to know myself."

Her gaze fell to the dark waters lapping at the side of the nameless ship. "That really wasn't my choice, no; but yes, I do want to be there." She smiled as she looked again to _The Pantera_. "If he wants me there."

Ichigo knew Grimmjow _did_ want her there; he didn't have to know the pirate very well to see that. "He's a thief, you know."

Her eyes flicked to him. "But not a horse thief."

He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes lingering on hers. "What you said, that story you told me about the island and Captain Jiruga – that's all true?" He saw a frown settle in her eyes. He cleared his throat. "I mean, you saw the horses from our stables there?"

She nodded. She hadn't told him everything about that island, not everything about Nnoitra, about the things she wanted to forget; but she had told him enough, she decided. "Grimmjow didn't steal your horses, Ichigo."

"But he burned down the stable." He sent a sharp look across the waters.

"...Well, yes..."

He saw her hands tense on the rail beside them, her face wrapped in a timid yet sweet smile he had never seen on her before. "If you'd be happy out here," he said lowly, "on the water, away... yeah, then you should be."

Her gaze turned to him only briefly before going to _The Pantera_ again. "You'll marry Maid Kuchiki?"

Ichigo shot a guilty look to where Renji was sitting on a coil of ropes rewrapping the handle of his sword. "I suppose. In time."

She nodded. "Good."

"Well, I know that Nel girl – woman – girl," he decided, shaking his head in confusion about the female pirate, "wants to talk to you, but maybe tomorrow, huh?"

"Okay."

He watched her hair lift from the gentle breeze blowing between the two vessels. "Are you cold?"

She shook her head.

"All right. I'll leave you alone, Orihime." He saw her slight smile, knowing it had nothing to do him. "Rangiku said you can have her bed tonight. She's staying with that Ichimaru guy that's still drying out."

"Thanks, Ichigo."

He left her at the rail and was found by Nel as he joined Chad and Uryuu at the center of the deck.

Orihime's eyes remained on Grimmjow looking back at her across the water as the sun headed to the horizon.

Between them the hull of the _Five Mirrors_ was sinking out of sight, only a few sail tips floating slowly down. Aizen's final gasp was muted by the shift and rumble of the hold and hull breaking apart as the ship was pulled under. His last air bubbles were engulfed in the bursting of air pockets billowing up from the sinking vessel.

She knew Grimmjow was watching her, even as he nodded to Cat at his side. The first mate departed back to where the repairs were busily being made. Grimmjow leaned on the port side rail, his grin evident from the distance.

Orihime smiled back, sighing at his nearness, wishing he was nearer still. She watched until every remainer of the _Five Mirrors_ was submerged, until darkness had settled over the rippling waters.

And until the stars came out in the dark heavens, outlining the lone figure at _The Pantera's_ rail looking back at her across the mirror-like night waters.

* * *

**Authors' Note:** One chapter left._ Happy New Year to everyone!_


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